Brain-Eating Amoeba Prompts Health Ministry Warnings for Sea of Galilee Swimmers

Israel's Ministry of Health issued new recommendations for swimmers in the Sea of Galilee (Kinneret) on Sunday, September 6, following the hospitalization of a 9-year-old boy infected with the brain-eating amoeba, Naegleria fowleri. The child is in extremely critical condition, on a ventilator and in a medically induced coma at Rambam Hospital in Haifa, suffering from brain inflammation.

An epidemiological investigation revealed the boy had swum at the Kursi beach on the Sea of Galilee about a week before his hospitalization. Infection occurs when contaminated water enters the nose, allowing the amoeba to travel to the brain. The ministry stressed that the amoeba cannot be transmitted from person to person or contracted by drinking water.

To mitigate risks, the Ministry of Health advises swimmers to use nose clips, avoid diving or jumping into the water, and refrain from submerging their heads. Activities that force water into the nose under pressure should be avoided, as should disturbing silt and the seabed in shallow areas where amoeba concentration may be higher.

The ministry also recommended placing informational signs about the infection and precautions at Sea of Galilee beaches. Naegleria fowleri, a single-celled amoeba found in freshwater, thrives in water temperatures of 28 degrees Celsius (82.4 degrees Fahrenheit) and above, and does not live in saltwater. The amoeba travels along the olfactory nerves to the brain, causing severe inflammation with limited treatment options.

Diagnosing the rare infection can be difficult, as brain inflammation is more commonly caused by bacteria or viruses. The ministry noted that a single water test cannot guarantee a beach's safety due to the amoeba's uneven distribution. Globally, fewer than 500 cases have been recorded, with 167 in the U.S. between 1962 and 2024.

In Israel, four cases have been diagnosed since 2022. The first was a 36-year-old man who died in the summer of 2022. In July 2024, two water park visitors at Gai Beach contracted the infection; 26-year-old Tzachi Alon died days later, while 10-year-old Roi Zigdon has been hospitalized for months and continues to fight for his life at home. The current case is the fourth in Israel.