A 14-year-old boy has survived a rare brain-eating amoeba in India in the first reported recovery in the country and one of only a few in the world.
The boy, from Kozhikode in the southern coastal city of Kerala, was hospitalised within 24 hours of showing symptoms of amoebic meningoencephalitis in early July.
He was treated by Dr Abdul Rauf at the Baby Memorial Hospital.
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The hospital last week announced that “the boy’s life was saved” in a miraculous feat it claimed was a first for the country.
“We could do the preliminary diagnosis within 24 hours of admitting him. That provided crucial in the treatment,” Rauf told local news site The Hindu.
“A PCR test confirmed the presence of the amoeba later.”
Rauf added the boy had been undergoing treatment for almost three weeks and would have to continue taking medication for another week.
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Amoebic meningoencephalitis is a rare infection of the brain caused by the Naegleria fowleri amoebae found in untreated bodies of water like lakes and rivers.
It causes headaches, fevers, nausea, confusion, seizures and hallucinations.
Symptoms take hold very quickly, with most patients dying within days of contracting the disease.
Globally, there have only been 381 confirmed cases and seven known survivors, the US Centre of Disease Control said in April.
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