A teenager, who was affected by a rare brain infection caused by free-living amoebae living in contaminated waters, died in Kerala's Alappuzha district last week.
The 15-year-old, who was native of the Alappuzha district, was infected with the disease called primary amoebic meningoencephalitis.
So far, five such cases of the rare infection have been reported in Kerala with the first one being reported in Alappuzha in 2016. All the infected patients died.
Main symptoms of the brain-eating amoeba are fever, headache, vomiting, and seizures.
The free-living amoebae, which cause the infection, are found in still water.
According to doctors, the human brain gets infected when the free-living, non-parasitic enters the body through the nose.