Health Alerts

Tick-borne relapsing fever has been confirmed in two residents of Umm al-Fahm in Haifa district after they spent some time in a cave in Sharaya area. Both have since recovered following a 5-day hospital stay. Supplementary information posted on ProMED noted that the local tick vector ‘is widely distributed in the northern highlands, coastal plain and Negev desert’ in Israel and the ticks are often found ‘in the floors and crevices of caves’. Fever is the initial symptom of the infection, followed by others that can include a rash, cough, shortness of breath, nausea, and muscle and joint pain. Read more