Swimmers around New South Wales‘ coast and Israel’s Sea of Galilee are being warned of a high risk of ocular infections due to elevated levels of different waterborne parasites. 

Researchers from the University of New South Wales advised swimmers to remove contact lenses before swimming to reduce their risk of contracting Acanthamoeba keratitis. The university’s collaborative study, with the University of Technology Sydney and the University of the West of Scotland, identified Acanthamoeba in 38.3% of 206 water samples from four intermittently closed and open lagoons (Wamberal, Terrigal, Avoca and Cockrone). More than 50% of Terrigal’s samples were Acanthamoeba-positive and all four sites had elevated levels in the summer months, said researchers. 

In Israel, ophthalmologists have filed numerous reports of patients being hospitalised with severe cornea infections, scarring, or blurred vision after bathing in the Sea of Galilee, reported the Israeli government. “The investigation shows 29 patients have been hospitalised with lesions in the cornea consistent with microsporidium (unicellular parasites closely related to fungi) infections. The ministry of health has launched an epidemiological investigation, which so far has uncovered the fact that at least some cases visited various beaches off the Sea of Galilee.”

The government asked swimmers to wear goggles and contact an eyecare professional if they notice redness, pain or a foreign-body sensation in the eyes.