The Health Ministry announced that a nine-year-old boy is hospitalized in serious condition, sedated and on a ventilator in the intensive care unit, after developing encephalitis.
A test sent to Health Ministry laboratories, the results of which were received last night, confirmed the primary suspicion that the child had been infected with a rare amoeba.
Preliminary findings from the epidemiological investigation indicate that the boy swam at Kursi Beach on the Sea of Galilee (Kinneret) approximately six days before he was taken to the hospital and admitted.
The Health Ministry noted that this is an extremely rare disease with a high mortality rate. Fewer than 500 cases of infection have been documented worldwide to date. Two cases were diagnosed in the United States over the past year, while three cases have been recorded in Israel in recent years.
The amoeba in question is a microscopic organism found primarily in warm freshwater. In extremely rare cases, it can enter the central nervous system and cause a severe infection.
Infection occurs only when water containing the amoeba enters through the nasal cavity, from where the organism can travel to the brain. Infection is not caused by drinking water and cannot be transmitted from person to person.
The Health Ministry noted that symptoms requiring urgent medical attention following exposure to warm freshwater include high fever, severe headaches, nausea or vomiting. If neck stiffness, confusion, unusual drowsiness or changes in consciousness subsequently develop, urgent medical treatment should be sought, and medical personnel should be informed about the exposure to the water.