Kozhikode (Kerala) | A nine-year-old girl who died at the medical college here two days ago was due to amoebic encephalitis, a rare brain infection caused by free-living amoeba in contaminated waters, health officials in this north Kerala district confirmed on Saturday.

A senior health official said that the girl was admitted to a hospital due to fever on August 13, but as her condition worsened quickly, she was shifted to the Kozhikode medical college on August 14 where she died the same day.

A test carried out at the microbiology lab of the medical college revealed late Friday night that the cause of the girl's death was amoebic encephalitis, the official said.

The search is on to identify the water body, such as a pond or lake, from where the child, a resident of Thamarassery, contracted the pathogen, he said.

"Once the water body is identified, we will look for those who may have bathed in it recently," he added.

The official said it was probably the fourth case of the rare brain infection reported from the district this year.

Caused by free-living amoeba, amoebic encephalitis is a deadly infection that is typically contracted from freshwater sources such as lakes, rivers, and streams.