(MENAFN) The southern Indian state of Kerala is confronting a mounting health emergency following an outbreak of a rare “brain-eating amoeba,” which has claimed the lives of 19 people and infected several others, officials confirmed on Thursday.

This illness, termed Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis (PAM), is caused by naegleria fowleri, a microscopic amoeba commonly found in warm freshwater and soil.

Once the pathogen enters the body via the nose, it assaults brain tissue, causing swift swelling and inflammation that can be fatal within a matter of days.

Affected individuals in Kerala have ranged from three months to 91 years old, making it difficult to identify common sources of exposure or to contain the outbreak effectively.

Health Minister Veena George labeled the scenario as a “serious public health concern.”

Unlike previous years when outbreaks appeared in clusters associated with a single water source, “we are not seeing clusters linked to a single water source,” George told a news agency.

“These are single, isolated cases, which has complicated our epidemiological investigations.”

She also emphasized the need for prompt medical intervention, stating, “Early detection is key,” and highlighted that Kerala’s survival rate of 24% far exceeds the global average of under 3%.

This relative success, she noted, is attributed to timely diagnosis and the administration of the anti-parasitic medication miltefosine.

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