Brain-eating amoeba outbreaks in Kerala and Sindh with fatalities

Health authorities in South Asia are grappling with outbreaks of the brain eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri, with Kerala reporting roughly 69 to 72 cases and 19 deaths so far in 2025, and Sindh province in Pakistan confirming its fifth death in the year after a 29-year-old Karachi man died in September, officials said.

Sindh health officials said the Karachi patient began experiencing symptoms on September 7, was admitted to a private hospital on September 11 and died the same day. The presence of Naegleria fowleri was confirmed on September 12, Meeran Yousuf, media coordinator for the Sindh health minister, said. Investigators found the deceased had not taken part in any water recreation activities; his only reported exposure was routine use of tap water for drinking and bathing, Yousuf said.

In India, Kerala state health authorities have warned of a striking rise in Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis, or PAM, a rapidly progressive brain infection caused when the amoeba enters the body through the nose. State Health Minister Veena George described the situation as a serious public health concern, and officials have said cases are no longer confined to clusters in Kozhikode and...