Over 250 visitors of Gai Beach water park in Tiberias have sought medical evaluation for Naegleria fowleri, the "brain-eating" amoeba, the Health Ministry announces. All tested negative for the disease.

This follows news of a previously healthy 10-year-old child in critical condition with encephalitis at Ziv Medical Center in Safed, as reported by a hospital spokesperson yesterday.

It was at the water park when the youngster got sick.

This is the same area where a man, 25, died at the beginning of this month from contracting Naegleria fowleri.

On Wednesday, the park was ordered closed by the Health Ministry.

Naegleria fowleri, the amoeba, inhabits warm freshwater environments such lakes, rivers, and hot springs in addition to soil. The US Centres for Disease Control state that because it can cause a brain infection if water containing the amoeba passes up the nose, it is sometimes referred to as the "brain-eating amoeba."

While Naegleria fowleri thrives in warm water, most people who swim in water sources containing the amoeba do not come into contact with it.

On the Ministry’s website are detailed guidelines for properly maintaining water facilities.

The mortality rate from encephalitis, an infection of the brain, caused by the amoeba is extremely high, and while infection is extremely rare, it is often fatal.

These are the only three recorded cases in Israel. Only some 400 cases have ever been diagnosed worldwide.

The hospital reported that the child’s condition remains critical while sedated and ventilated.

“The medical team continues to provide him with optimal care, and we’re all praying for his recovery,” a Ziv Medical Center spokesperson says.

Source: Times of Israel