Nine-Year-Old Boy Dies from Rare Brain-Eating Amoeba Infection in Israel
Nine-year-old Baruch Neria has died at Rambam hospital in Haifa after contracting the rare brain-eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri following a swim in the Sea of Galilee.
At the Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa, the death was announced today (Thursday) of 9-year-old Baruch Neria from Pardes Hanna, more than two weeks after he was hospitalized in critical condition with meningoencephalitis following infection with the "brain-eating amoeba" (Naegleria fowleri). He will be laid to rest tomorrow at 10:00 AM at the cemetery in his hometown.
Epidemiological Investigation and Infection Source
An initial epidemiological investigation revealed that the boy had swum at Kursi Beach on the Sea of Galilee about a week prior to his hospitalization. Baruch Neria was sedated and placed on a ventilator in the pediatric intensive care unit, and a sample sent to the Ministry of Health laboratories confirmed the suspicion of infection by the rare parasite.
According to the Ministry of Health, this is an extremely rare disease. Worldwide, fewer than 500 cases have been reported, including two diagnosed in the United States over the past year. In Israel, three previous cases have been diagnosed in recent years, two of which ended in fatalities.
"The Naegleria fowleri amoeba is a parasite that naturally lives in natural freshwater sources. It thrives in high temperatures, meaning warm water of 28 degrees Celsius and above," explained Dr. Rotem Lapidot, director of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Department at Rambam.
Medical Explanations and Prevention
Experts emphasize that the amoeba does not thrive in seawater, focusing the risk primarily on warm freshwater bodies. The amoeba enters the brain through the nose, but health officials stress that transmission is extremely rare, it is not contagious from person to person, and it cannot be contracted by drinking water.
Symptoms typically appear within five to six days of exposure and include fever, severe headaches, vomiting, nausea, and neurological symptoms such as altered mental status. Medical professionals advise that any combination of high fever, persistent headache, and changes in consciousness warrants immediate emergency medical evaluation.
