Kasaragod: An 18-year-old youth from Kasaragod has been diagnosed with Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis (PAM), a rare and often fatal brain infection caused by the "brain-eating amoeba", Naegleria fowleri. He is in critical condition and undergoing treatment in the intensive care unit of a private hospital in Mangaluru. The hospital confirmed the infection to his family.

The youth, the son of an autorickshaw driver who supplies bread to bakeries and shops, is a native of Meengoth near Ambalathara in Pullur Periya panchayat. Health officials believe he had taken a dip about a week ago in a roadside freshwater pond at Ambalathara, maintained by the panchayat along the Kanhangad-Panathur State Highway. The pond is a popular swimming spot for children and young people, many of whom learn to swim there.

Following the confirmation of the infection, local health officials and the Janamaithri police launched precautionary measures around the pond. A Health Inspector said people who swam in the pond have been advised to seek medical attention if they develop symptoms such as dizziness, fever or headache. Health officials at the panchayat-level said they have information that the boy might have visited other ponds as well, and enquiries are underway to trace possible exposure.

However, senior district health authorities have remained largely inaccessible. Repeated calls by Onmanorama to Kasaragod District Medical Officer (DMO) Dr Rekha and the Health Department's Education and Mass Media Officer, Abdul Latheef, went unanswered, and comments on the department's response and surveillance measures could not be obtained.

Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis (PAM) is an extremely rare and devastating infection caused by Naegleria fowleri, a free-living amoeba found in warm freshwater bodies and soil. The amoeba enters the body through the nose, usually when people swim or dive in contaminated freshwater, and travels to the brain, where it causes severe inflammation.

According to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), infection can also occur when contaminated tap water is forced into the nose, such as during nasal rinsing. The disease is not spread by drinking contaminated water or from person to person.

PAM has a mortality rate of around 97 per cent. Health experts advise people to avoid forcing freshwater up the nose while swimming or diving in ponds and lakes.