Thiruvananthapuram, Oct. 15 -- As Kerala battles rare brain infection cases caused by "brain eating amoeba" Naegleria fowleri, senior Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader KK Shailaja on Wednesday assured that the state government was taking measures to aware health workers at the grassroots level to remain vigilant so that symptoms of the disease are not ignored.

She said it was essential that widespread amoeba testing begin at the panchayat level to prevent future cases.

Shailaja, the former Kerala Health Minister, further stated that amoebic meningoencephalitis, a type of amoebic encephalitis, is not a contagious disease, but rather it naturally occurs in densely populated areas.

"Amoebic meningoencephalitis is not a contagious ...