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Another death due to amoebic encephalitis has been reported in the state.
A 59-year-old man from Chavakkad, who was undergoing treatment at Kozhikode Medical College, passed away. Health officials confirmed that he had been diagnosed with amoebic encephalitis. The patient was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday. Currently, 11 people are under treatment in Kozhikode district, three children at the Maternal and Child Health Centre, seven patients at Kozhikode Medical College Hospital, and one patient at a private hospital. According to the Health Department, 18 people have died of amoebic encephalitis in the state this year. So far, 66 cases have been reported in 2025. Of the 19 cases detected this month, seven patients have succumbed to the disease. Amoebic meningoencephalitis (or amoebic meningitis) occurs when pathogens from the amoeba genus -- Naegleria fowleri, Acanthamoeba, Sapinia, Balamuthia, and Vermamoeba -- infect the brain. The infection is usually contracted while diving or swimming in stagnant water. The amoebae can enter the brain through the thin membrane separating the nose and brain or through perforations in the eardrum. The disease carries a mortality rate of more than 97 per cent. It is not transmitted from person to person. Symptoms typically appear within five to ten days of infection. (ANI)
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