Latest news with #Arunpreet
Time of India
6 hours ago
- Health
- Time of India
1 dead, 2 critical: Brain-eating amoeba puts Kerala on alert; authorities trace source to contaminated well
KOZHIKODE: Brain-eating amoeba. A phrase that sounds like zombie fiction is stalking Kozhikode district this monsoon. A nine-year-old is dead. A three-month-old baby lies in critical condition. Another patient, a 40-year-old man, fights for his life. The killer is microscopic. It thrives in warm, stagnant water - lakes, rivers, wells, swimming pools with poor chlorination. The parasite Naegleria fowleri slips in with a splash of water up the nose, travels silently past the sinuses to the brain, and feeds on its tissue. "Though mortality is very high, it does not spread between people," district medical officer Dr K K Rajaram said in a press note. The amoeba is free-living, not contagious. The state's first case was detected after the baby from Omassery, admitted on Aug 4 to Kozhikode Govt Medical College, tested positive. "The condition of the baby is critical," Dr Arunpreet, superintendent at Institute of Maternal and Child Health, said Monday. But the alarm rose after Aug 14, when class 4 student Anaya Sanoop from Thamarassery died of fever complications. District surveillance officer Dr Manoj said amoeba was detected in water from the well attached to the baby's home. "The family has been asked to use another well for now, and chlorination is being done in the area," he said. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
2 more cases of amoebic meningoencephalitis in Kozhikode, Kerala health deparment on alert
Kozhikode: Three days after a nine-year-old girl from Thamarassery succumbed to amoebic meningoencephalitis, two more persons — including a three-month-old baby — have tested positive for the disease and are under treatment at Kozhikode govt medical college hospital. According to hospital authorities, the baby, hailing from Omassery in the district, was admitted on Aug 4, and the amoebic infection was confirmed in tests conducted in the college. Health authorities said it was the first time in the state that the infection was reported in a baby as young as three months. Superintendent of the institute of maternal and child health, Kozhikode medical college, Dr Arunpreet said the condition of the baby was critical. The samples have been sent to a virology lab in Chandigarh to identify the exact strain of amoeba. Health department sources said tests on water samples taken from the well at the infant's house confirmed the presence of amoeba, but further tests were needed to ascertain if the strain caused the disease. Kozhikode district medical officer Dr R Rajaram said people had been asked not to bathe infants in ponds. A 40-year-old man from Annassery in the district is also undergoing treatment for the disease at the hospital. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Could This NEW Collagen Blend Finally Reduce Your Cellulite? Vitauthority Learn More Undo Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) is mostly linked to bathing or swimming in waters containing the amoeba, Naegleria fowleri, which lives in warm and shallow bodies of freshwater, such as lakes and rivers. It is considered a free-living organism because it doesn't need a host to live. The infection occurs when the infected water goes into the nose, and the amoeba then moves to the brain, where it destroys the brain tissue. Anaya Sanoop, a Class IV student, succumbed to fever-related complications on Aug 14 night, and PAM infection was confirmed later. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.
