Boy's Condition Critical After Contracting Brain-Eating Amoeba in Sea of Galilee
The condition of nine-year-old Baruch Neria from Pardes Hanna remains extremely serious after he contracted a "brain-eating amoeba" (Naegleria fowleri) while swimming at the Kursi beach on the Sea of Galilee. Neria is currently hospitalized in the intensive care unit at Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa, where he is sedated and on a ventilator.
The amoeba, Naegleria fowleri, is a rare but often fatal pathogen that can cause primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), an infection of the brain. It typically enters the body when contaminated freshwater, such as lakes and rivers, enters the nose. The Kursi beach area has been closed to swimming following the incident.
Health officials are investigating the source of the contamination and have advised the public to avoid swimming in freshwater bodies in the north of the country, particularly in shallow, warm waters, and to use nose plugs when swimming in such areas. This is the second reported case of PAM in Israel this year, with the first occurring in the northern city of Akko.
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