Confusion over cause of Anaya’s death: Family to seek legal action

The family of nine-year-old K.S. Anaya, whose death in August has been attributed to Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis (PAM), is preparing to seek legal action after an autopsy report from the Department of Forensic Medicine at Government Medical College, Kozhikode, came into the public domain.

The report stated that the cause of her death was due to complications arising from viral pneumonia caused by an Influenza A infection.

​However, the Health Department has adhered to the version of PAM, and the Thamarassery police, which registered a case following a complaint from the parents that the girl was not given timely treatment, are also awaiting the chemical analysis report for more clarity.

​Anaya was treated at the Thamarassery Taluk Hospital and succumbed at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital on August 14. A post-mortem was conducted the next day, and the report was forwarded to the Thamarassery police.

​Her father, Sanoop, attacked a doctor with a machete at the Thamarassery Taluk Hospital on October 8, alleging his negligence in his daughter’s death.

The post mortem report, also mentions about the report of the Department of Microbiology that says that preliminary wet-mount test was suggestive of free-living amoebae. However a subsequent confirmatory analysis from the State Public Health Lab found a negative result. “Confirmatory report of the CSF (Cerebrospinal Fluid) and brain tissues revealed negative for Acanthamoeba species, Naegleria fowleri”, the report says. ​Since Naegleria fowleri is the organism that causes PAM, this negative result effectively rules out PAM as the cause of death.

​However, the Health Department is heavily relying on the confirmation given by the lab report from the Microbiology Department that Anaya’s case was PAM. Two siblings of the deceased child, along with another close relative, had also exhibited symptoms, and one of them was confirmed as a case and had also successfully completed treatment.

The negative result of State Public Health Lab and the positive confirmation from the Microbiology Department makes the final determination of the cause of death difficult and necessitates further chemical analysis, sources said.