<p>Thiruvananthapuram: As Kerala continues to report a rise in amoebic meningoencephalitis cases, a senior doctor has attributed the surge to rampant garbage dumping, calling it the root cause behind such rare and infectious diseases emerging in the state.</p><p>So far, 129 cases of amoebic meningoencephalitis have been reported this year, with 26 deaths confirmed.</p><p>Dr Harish Chirackal, head of the urology department at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital — who recently made headlines for publicly criticising lapses in the state’s health infrastructure — made the remarks in a social media post.</p><p>“Amoebic meningoencephalitis is not being reported in neighbouring Tamil Nadu or Karnataka. There’s no need for extensive research to find out why such rare diseases are increasingly seen in Kerala. Garbage dumping is the reason. The state is paying the price for indiscriminate disposal of slaughter waste, hotel waste, and septic waste into water bodies,” Dr Chirackal wrote.</p>.Continued mystery over 'amoebic fever' death led to attack on doctor in Kerala.<p>He added that tackling the problem was “the responsibility of society” and criticised the tendency to blame doctors instead of addressing systemic issues. “There’s no point in hacking a doctor over it,” he said, referring to a recent incident in Kozhikode where the father of a nine-year-old girl attacked a doctor, alleging medical negligence after her death.</p><p>The girl’s postmortem later revealed that viral pneumonia, and not amoebic meningoencephalitis, was the cause of death.</p>
<p>Thiruvananthapuram: As Kerala continues to report a rise in amoebic meningoencephalitis cases, a senior doctor has attributed the surge to rampant garbage dumping, calling it the root cause behind such rare and infectious diseases emerging in the state.</p><p>So far, 129 cases of amoebic meningoencephalitis have been reported this year, with 26 deaths confirmed.</p><p>Dr Harish Chirackal, head of the urology department at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital — who recently made headlines for publicly criticising lapses in the state’s health infrastructure — made the remarks in a social media post.</p><p>“Amoebic meningoencephalitis is not being reported in neighbouring Tamil Nadu or Karnataka. There’s no need for extensive research to find out why such rare diseases are increasingly seen in Kerala. Garbage dumping is the reason. The state is paying the price for indiscriminate disposal of slaughter waste, hotel waste, and septic waste into water bodies,” Dr Chirackal wrote.</p>.Continued mystery over 'amoebic fever' death led to attack on doctor in Kerala.<p>He added that tackling the problem was “the responsibility of society” and criticised the tendency to blame doctors instead of addressing systemic issues. “There’s no point in hacking a doctor over it,” he said, referring to a recent incident in Kozhikode where the father of a nine-year-old girl attacked a doctor, alleging medical negligence after her death.</p><p>The girl’s postmortem later revealed that viral pneumonia, and not amoebic meningoencephalitis, was the cause of death.</p>