How a rare brain-eating amoeba is killing people in Kerala

Sep 19, 2025 | 11:05 IST

Kerala has reported 19 deaths from primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) this year, a disease so rare the world has seen just 488 cases in 39 countries in six decades

On September 1, two patients — a three-month-old baby and a 52-year-old woman — died within hours at Kozhikode Government Medical College. Doctors confirmed that both were being treated for primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), an infection caused by the free-living parasite Naegleria fowleri.

By mid-September, the toll had risen to 19, with 69 suspected or confirmed cases across Kerala. Victims ranged from infants to middle-aged adults, and the deaths sparked widespread alarm.

TOI

TOI

How a rare brain-eating amoeba is killing people in Kerala

Kerala has reported 19 deaths from primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) this year, a disease so rare the world has seen just 488 cases in 39 countries in six decades

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TOI

How a rare brain-eating amoeba is killing people in Kerala

Kerala has reported 19 deaths from primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) this year, a disease so rare the world has seen just 488 cases in 39 countries in six decades

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