Kozhikode: The Kerala health department has urged the public to exercise extreme caution as cases of amoebic encephalitis continue to rise in the state. On Sunday, Kozhikode district reported two more cases of this rare brain infection, which is caused by a free-living amoeba found in contaminated water.

A youth from Annassery and a three-month-old baby from Omassery were diagnosed with the disease. Both are undergoing treatment at the Government Medical College Hospital in Kozhikode.

Health department officials visited the patients’ houses and collected water samples.

On Saturday, the department confirmed that a nine-year-old girl from Thamarassery had died of amoebic encephalitis. The deceased is Anaya, daughter of Sanoop and a class 4 student at Korangad LP School.

A senior health official said the child was admitted to a hospital with severe fever on August 13. As her condition worsened, she was shifted to the Kozhikode Medical College on August 14, where she died the same day.

A test conducted at the microbiology lab of the medical college late Friday night confirmed that the cause of her death was amoebic encephalitis, the official said.

According to a PTI report, officials are trying to identify the water body—such as a pond or lake—from which the child may have contracted the pathogen.

“Once the water body is identified, we will look for those who may have bathed in it recently,” an official said, adding that this was probably the fourth case of the rare brain infection reported from the district this year.

Amoebic encephalitis is a deadly infection typically contracted from freshwater sources such as lakes, rivers, and streams.