In the southern state of Kerala, illnesses and fatalities from a rare water-borne “brain-eating” amoeba have doubled compared to the previous year, prompting India to issue a health alert.
Altaf Ali, a physician who is a member of a government task team to stop the spread, told AFP that although the numbers are still very small, officials were “conducting tests on a large scale across the state to detect and treat cases.”
This year, officials have recorded 19 fatalities and 72 infections caused by the Naegleria fowleri amoeba, with nine fatalities and 24 cases recorded in September alone.
Nine of the 36 recorded cases of the amoeba last year resulted in death.
