A 25-year-old man has died after being infected with ‘brain-eating amoeba’, likely during a swim at a popular beach in Israel. According to Times Of Israel, the Israeli man, who officials have not publicly named, is thought to have potentially come into contact with the amoeba while swimming at Gai Beach on the shores of the Kinneret in northern Israel.

The man, without underlying health conditions, was initially admitted to Sharon Hospital last Tuesday after presenting with symptoms including fever, headaches, and vomiting. After his condition worsened, he was transferred to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikvah. Despite the best treatments, he died on Sunday. 

The hospital said, ”Medical teams used everything at their disposal, including drug treatments and surgical interventions to save the patient’s life, but his condition continued to deteriorate.”

Notably, this is the second-ever case recorded in Israel. A  healthy 36-year-old man from northern Israel died of severe brain inflammation after contracting the amoeba in August 2022. 

In India, the rare brain infection has claimed three lives. Last week, a 14-year-old boy in Kerala died from the infection he contracted while swimming in contaminated water. The first instance was the death of a five-year-old girl from Malappuram on May 21 and the second was a 13-year-old girl from Kannur who died on June 25. 

What is Naegleria fowleri, the brain-eating amoeba?

The Naegleria fowleri amoeba, commonly described as brain-eating amoeba because it destroys brain tissue, is typically found in bodies of warm freshwater such as lakes, rivers, or hot springs, and more rarely in poorly maintained under-chlorinated swimming pools. 

Swimming or diving in water containing this amoeba can enter their bodies through the nose. Once in the nasal passages, Naegleria fowleri can travel to the brain, resulting in inflammation of the brain tissue and causing a severe infection called primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), as per the Cleveland Clinic. 

Symptoms can include headaches, fever, nausea, and vomiting, and the illness “usually leads to coma and death after 5 days,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Other symptoms can include a stiff neck, confusion, lack of attention to people and surroundings, loss of balance, and hallucinations. 

The mortality rate from encephalitis caused by the amoeba is extremely high, and while infection is extremely rare, it is often fatal. The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that most people with PAM die within 1 to 18 days after symptoms start to appear. 

Scientists have not found any effective treatments for PAM yet. Currently, doctors have been managing the disease with a combination of drugs. Only some 400 cases have ever been diagnosed worldwide.