Indian state declares health alert after 19 deaths from the "brain-eating" amoeba

The state of Kerala, in southern India, declared a health alert this Wednesday after confirming 19 deaths this year from the infection caused by the so-called “brain-eating” amoeba, a lethal parasite that lives in contaminated fresh and warm waters, according to official data.

In total, at least 69 cases of primary amebic meningoencephalitis have been detected in 2025, a rare disease but with a mortality rate close to 95%, according to the State Department of Health. Only this month, 23 new cases and nine deaths have been confirmed.

The victims include infants just a few months old to senior adults, and it has gone from being found in a focused manner to presenting widespread cases in the region, which has increased the alarm among the population.

Kerala Health Minister Veena George assured that the registered cases are “isolated and not linked to a single source of infection”, unlike last year, when outbreaks related to shared water sources were identified.

Regional authorities have ordered the strengthening of epidemiological surveillance, daily chlorination of public swimming pools, inspection of wells and water tanks, and the launch of awareness campaigns to prevent the population from swimming in untreated waters.

They also recommended using nose clips when submerging in fresh water to prevent the parasite from entering through the nostrils.

The government highlighted that the survival rate in Kerala, around 24%, is notably higher than the global average, thanks to early detection and the use of the antiparasitic drug miltefosine, which has saved several patients.

The health department, in collaboration with the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC), is conducting extensive environmental sampling to identify potential sources of contamination, while investigating the possibility of new transmission routes.

Naegleria fowleri, known as the “brain-eating” amoeba, enters the body through the nose and rapidly destroys brain tissue, causing symptoms such as fever, headache, seizures, and loss of consciousness, which usually lead to death within days.