The Kerala Health department has initiated an active case finding exercise to detect cases of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) in Athiyannoor panchayat of Neyattinkara taluk in Thiruvananthapuram, from where a cluster of PAM cases have been reported, for the first time in the State.
Till now, all the PAM cases reported in the State had been sporadic events. However, the outbreak in the district has taken Health authorities by surprise, who are now expecting more cases, all linked to the mossy green pond – Kaavinkulam – at Nellimood in the Athiyannoor panchayat.
Health officials have confirmed that five persons are undergoing treatment for PAM at the Government Medical College Hospital here. Thus the State capital has now reported a total of six confirmed cases of PAM, including one death.
Health officials also think that all cases are linked to the pond as all of them seem to have a history of having washed or bathed in the pond.
“It is a stagnant water body with a high concentration of green moss, an ideal environment for amoeba to grow. There could be problems once the concentration of this amoeba crosses a critical threshold. We are on the lookout for more cases and all clinicians have been asked to look for a history of having bathed in a pond/water body if they see any unusual presentations in the outpatient clinics,” a senior official said.
While the clustering of PAM cases is a first time occurrence in the State, case clusters of (16-19 cases) have been reported earlier in the literature, in the United States, linked to a pool, and in Karachi in Pakistan.
