JERUSALEM, July 28 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli Health Ministry reported four new deaths from West Nile fever on Sunday, bringing the total number of fatalities from the virus in the current outbreak in the country to 46.
Also, 16 new cases of infection with the virus were diagnosed in Israel, raising the total since the beginning of May to an annual record high of 710 cases, much higher than the previous annual record of 425 infections registered in the year 2000.
Meanwhile, the ministry said in a statement that in recent days, about 250 people have visited hospitals for a medical evaluation for the brain-eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri and tested negative.
This followed the hospitalization last week of a 10-year-old boy who was infected with the rare amoeba.
An epidemiological investigation revealed that the boy had recently been to a water park at the Sea of Galilee in northeastern Israel. A 26-year-old man who died earlier this month from the amoeba also visited the same park.
Following this, the ministry ordered an immediate shutdown of the water park, sent water samples for testing, and called on anyone who had been there and experienced symptoms to go to a hospital immediately.
The ministry also instructed to add chloride to freshwater pools and splash pads with temperatures of at least 35 degrees Celsius, to prevent the growth of the amoeba.
So far, only three cases of amoeba infection have been recorded in Israel, the first about two years ago when a 36-year-old man died of the disease.
