CWRDM expresses readiness to test water samples for amoeba causing meningoencephalitis

In view of the rising cases of amoebic meningoencephalitis in Kerala, the Kozhikode-based Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM) has volunteered to test water resources for the disease-causing amoeba. Manoj Samuel, Executive Director of CWRDM, told The Hindu on Friday that it has submitted a proposal to the Additional Chief Secretary as well as the Director of Health Services to this effect and the response has been positive. The CWRDM is awaiting official communications in this regard. “We have the necessary facility to conduct this test, which cannot be done in every laboratory. We have the necessary equipment to conduct real-time Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test and have qualified personnel to do the tests,” Mr. Samuel said. However, the CWRDM will need the State to handover the protocol for the test and issue the necessary permissions, besides imparting training on the nuances. “This is a sector where the expertise of the CWRDM could be put to use,” he said. Preventive step Sreejith V.N., microbiologist and scientist at the CWRDM, said that the test is presently held only at the State Public Health Laboratory in Thiruvananthapuram and probably at the Mahatma Gandhi University. The scientists of the CWRDM need training in either of these labs before they start testing for the amoeba. “We are testing water samples, not clinical samples, and hence the concentration of amoeba, if any, will be comparatively low and not easily distinguishable. We need to know which kind of amoeba to look for and the permissible concentration of it. The State Health department needs to share these details,” he said. Mr. Sreejith said that the test would come in handy as a preventive step. “Once detected, the amoeba can be mitigated to some extent through chlorination. However, certain forms of amoeba are immune to chlorination,” he added.