Six children from a kindergarten in Hara Lahat, in the Hefer Valley Regional Council, were treated in recent days at Meir and Hillel Yaffe hospitals after apparently being bitten by ticks at the facility and contracting Mediterranean spotted fever. Three of the children have already received laboratory results confirming the disease, while the other three are still waiting for serology results. The children had high fever, rash and pain, and were given targeted antibiotic treatment in hospital.
One mother, Odi, said her six-year-old son Nevo first complained of a headache, then developed a high fever and later a rash on his body, palms and feet. “He was suffering from pain, a rash started all over his body, it was very difficult,” she said. “He was like a rag, it was frightening to see your child like that.” Another mother, Tamar, said doctors initially did not recognize the illness and suspected insects or hand, foot and mouth disease. She said she was not referred to hospital even after telling staff that other children from the kindergarten had been diagnosed, and only in the emergency room did doctors realize it was likely Mediterranean spotted fever.
Parents accused the Hefer Valley Regional Council and the Health Ministry of neglecting the kindergarten grounds and delaying treatment of the tick problem. Odi said, “The council needs to wake up. They just sprayed around the edges. They should have sifted or replaced the sand, and that did not happen.” Tamar added that it took five days before spraying was done and that tall weeds still remain, creating a risk of snakes and ticks. The council said it acted immediately, moved the children to alternative buildings, carried out spraying, pest control and extensive weed trimming, and that all lab tests from the kindergartens were normal with no ticks found. Officials said there was no outbreak inside the schools, only environmental exposure in the surrounding open areas.
The article explains that Mediterranean spotted fever is a bacterial illness caused by rickettsia and spread by ticks, often from dogs or wild animals such as jackals. Infection usually requires the tick to remain on a person for 12 to 24 hours, and cases are more common in spring and summer. Symptoms can include high fever, severe headache, muscle pain, eye-socket pain and sometimes a rash, especially on the palms and soles. The disease is treated with doxycycline, and fast diagnosis is important because, without treatment, it can be fatal. Meir Hospital said four children came to the emergency department with symptoms suggesting the disease, two were admitted for treatment and observation, one test was positive, and three others were still pending. Infectious disease specialists at the hospital reported the cluster to the Health Ministry and stressed that the illness does not spread from person to person.
