Nearly two weeks ago, eight babies from Kibbutz Nir Or, located near the Gaza Strip, were infected with shiga-toxin producing E. coli. Four of the infants were hospitalized at Soroka Hospital in Be’er Sheva.

The infection apparently originated from the petting zoo area of the Kibbutz. The Ministry of Health continues to perform tests and despite initially closing the nursery, they expanded the order and decided to close all kindergartens in the community.

However, now that all the children had recovered and were discharged to their homes, the Ministry of Health still continues to quarantine all the nurseries, kindergartens, and day-care centers, thus forcing working parents to stay at home with their children.

“It is extremely important that if you are having bloody and runny stool, especially if you live in the southern region, to go get yourself examined. We know that antibiotics worsen the symptoms so please, make sure you get tested,” said a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit doctor from Sokora Medical Center.