Fourth case of rare brain-eating amoeba infection reported in Kerala
Kozhikode (Kerala), Jul 6: Another case of amoebic meningoencephalitis, a rare brain infection caused by a free-living amoeba found in contaminated waters, has been reported from Kerala.
A 14-year-old boy, a resident of Payyoli in this north Kerala district, is afflicted with the disease, according to sources in the private hospital where he is being treated.
This is the fourth case of the rare brain infection reported in the state since May and all the patients are children, three of whom have already died.
In the latest case, one of the doctors treating the boy said that he was admitted to the hospital on July 1, and his condition is improving.
The doctor said, on Saturday, that the infection was identified quickly at the hospital and treatment, including medicines from abroad, was given immediately.
On Wednesday, a 14-year-old boy infected with the free-living amoeba died here.
Prior to that, two others -- a five-year-old girl from Malappuram and a 13-year-old girl from Kannur -- died on May 21 and June 25, respectively, due to the rare brain infection.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday held a meeting in which several suggestions, including not to bathe in unclean waterbodies, were given to prevent further infections.
In the meeting, it was also suggested that there should be proper chlorination of swimming pools and children should be careful when entering waterbodies as they are mostly affected by this disease, the statement said.
The chief minister also said that everyone should take care to keep the waterbodies clean.
Using swimming nose clips to prevent infection by the free-living amoeba was also suggested in the meeting.
Medical experts said the infection occurs when free-living, non-parasitic amoebae bacteria enter the body through the nose from contaminated water.
The disease was earlier reported in coastal Alappuzha district in the state in 2023 and 2017.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
