A 56-year-old woman from Kerala’s Malappuram district died due to amoebic meningoencephalitis on Monday, reported the Hindustan Times. This marked the fifth death related to the rare brain infection in the state since August 14.

The woman, identified as Shobhana, was a resident of Thiruvali near Wandoor. She died at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital, where she had been admitted last week.

Amoebic meningoencephalitis is caused by Naegleria fowleri, also known as “brain-eating amoeba”. It can destroy brain tissue and cause severe brain swelling.

The amoeba lives in warm freshwater, such as in lakes and rivers, and can infect persons after entering the body through the nose. The infection is not contagious.

Eleven patients are being treated for the infection at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital, The News Minute reported. Two of them, one from Malappuram and another from Kasaragod, are critical.

On September 6, 45-year-old Ratheesh from Wayanad died due to the infection. Prior to him, two persons, including a three-month-old baby, succumbed to the amoeba in the last week of August.

On August 14, a nine-year-old girl died at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital.

The infection has been previously reported in the state in 2024, 2023 and 2017.

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