First Case in Israel: A Senior IDF Official Contracts Unusual Disease from America

By: Rotem Elizera

The first case of the Hantavirus to appear in Israel was discovered (and treated) at Sheba Medical Center. The Hantavirus is primarily found in North, Central  & South America. The patient, a high ranking official in the IDF (Israel Defense Forces),  had contracted the virus while on holiday in the United States.

The man, 40, had been suffering from muscle pain and fever over the course of two weeks before admitting himself to Sheba hospital. After a few days of continuous pain,  he also began to experience shortness of breath. Doctors began a series of X-rays and scans but the results were inconclusive.

“We could tell that this wasn’t your average flu,” said Dr. Gila Rahav, Director of the Infectious Diseases Department at Sheba. “The symptoms were not typical for a man of his age with no apparent background of illness.”

After questioning his family, Dr. Rahav discovered that the patient had visited the United States a few weeks before he began manifesting symptoms. Armed with this new information, Dr. Rahav decided to take some blood samples from the patient and send them to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in the United States. A few days later Dr. Rahav received a call informing her that the blood samples revealed that the patient was suffering from a rare and unusual RNA disease, the Hantavirus, which had never before been documented in Israel.

“This disease is often passed over to humans from rodents. It affects the kidneys and manifests as high fever and shortness of breath. In 40% of the cases, the patients die,” explains Dr. Rahav.

The patient was moved to intensive care where he began his treatment with antibiotics.

“I received urgent emails from medical authorities in Utah, Arizona and Nevada, because they want to learn as much as possible about its spread in the United States,” said Dr. Rahav.

The patient was allowed to go home after several days of dramatic improvement.