YERUSHALAYIM – At the height of the summer tourist season, numerous trails in the Upper Galilee and Golan have been closed in order to prevent access to water sources, after at least a dozen people were hospitalized after contracting Leptospirosis, a disease generally spread by rodents and animals.

Common to all the victims was their having bathed in fresh-water springs that were apparently infested with the Leptospirosis bacteria.

Left untreated, Leptospirosis can lead to symptoms including headaches, muscle pains and fever. More severe cases could include bleeding from the lungs or meningitis, or even severe pulmonary hemorrhage syndrome. If the infection causes the person to turn yellow, have kidney failure and bleeding, it is then known as Weil’s Disease. It is generally treatable by penicillin or other antibiotics. The sooner treatment is administered the less likely that severe symptoms will develop, say doctors.