(YNET NEWS) -- The Health Ministry issued a warning on Tuesday that a parasite that can cause eye infections and even permanently impair vision may have been found in the Sea of Galilee.

The warning came after 29 Israelis were hospitalized with cornea lesions that characterize microsporidiosis.

"In recent days, the Health Ministry has received a report from an ophthalmologist about several Israelis who were hospitalized with severe cornea infections, cornea scarring, and in more serious cases, eye damage," the ministry said.

Following the report, the Health Ministry launched an epidemiological investigation from which it has so far indicated that at least some of the patients had bathed on different shores of the Sea of Galilee.

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