Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis

Recently, the death of an elderly woman in Ernakulam, Kerala, renewed medical and administrative attention on Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis (PAM), a brain infection.

• The infection is caused by Naegleria fowleri, a microscopic, free-living amoeba commonly referred to as the "brain-eating amoeba".
• This pathogen thrives naturally in warm freshwater environments such as lakes, ponds, rivers, canals, and occasionally in poorly maintained, under-chlorinated swimming pools.
• The amoeba typically infects humans when contaminated water enters the body through the nose (often during bathing, swimming, or face-washing).
• It then travels up the olfactory nerve to the brain, causing a lethal central ....