Kerala’s health department has issued fresh guidelines to prevent, diagnose, and treat amoebic encephalitis, setting up specialized centres and rolling out a One Health action plan.

Kerala’s health minister, Veena George, announced a new strategy to curb amoebic encephalitis, a deadly brain infection that still claims lives each summer. The plan calls for testing every patient with suspected brain fever for the amoeba, and it tightens coordination among health, local self‑government, and education departments to drive annual awareness before the hot season. Schools and water‑users will get targeted information, and warning boards will appear at sites of past outbreaks.

The state public health laboratory and the Thonnakkal Institute of Animal Virology will lead molecular and genomic testing, while the microbiology units at Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode medical colleges will serve as dedicated diagnostic centres. To track environmental risks, the Pollution Control Board and Kerala University’s environmental science team have mapped hotspots and outlined measures to limit amoeba growth in water bodies.

Treatment access is part of the scheme. Kerala Medical Services Corporation will stock miltefosine, the drug shown to save lives, and an online training module on encephalitis care will go live on the state’s e‑learning portal. Research ties will deepen through partnerships with PGIMER Chandigarh and Pondicherry’s AVM Institute, studying factors that help free‑living amoebae thrive.

Early detection has already cut Kerala’s encephalitis mortality to 25 percent—well below the 97 percent fatality rate seen globally. In 2024, 38 Kerala residents fell ill and eight died; by mid‑2025, 12 cases and five deaths had occurred. Minister George urged vigilance: as temperatures rise, so does the risk of infection. Hospitals must follow the new rules without exception, she said, to keep patients safe and halt the spread of this rare but lethal disease.