HAN

Distributed via the CDC Health Alert NetworkSeptember 7, 2018, 1345 ET (1:45 PM ET)CDC HAN-00414The Israeli Ministry of Health is reporting an outbreak of leptospirosis in persons with exposure to natural water sources in the Golan Heights region of northern Israel after July 1, 2018. As of September 6, 2018, three persons with leptospirosis who traveled to Israel have been identified in the United States, with additional suspected cases reported and under investigation. Early symptoms of leptospirosis include fever, headache, chills, muscle aches, vomiting, diarrhea, cough, conjunctival suffusion (conjunctival redness without exudates), jaundice, and sometimes a rash. Clinicians should consider leptospirosis as a diagnosis in any patient who develops an acute febrile illness within 4 weeks of travel to one of the areas in northern Israel listed below since July 1, 2018.BackgroundSeven recreational water sites in the Golan Heights region have been linked to the outbreak:\u2022 Gilabun (Jilbon)\u2022 Yarden (Jordan) Park\u2022 Majrase (Majrase-Beteha Nature Reserve)\u2022 Meshushim (Meshushim Nature Reserve)\u2022 Yehudiya (Yehudia Nature Reserve)\u2022 Zaki (Zakhi)\u2022 Zavitan2018LeptospirosisBacteriaLeptospir