By Zein Khalil
JERUSALEM (AA) - Dozens of Israeli soldiers stationed near the Gaza Strip border are suspected of having the skin disease leishmaniasis, an Israeli newspaper revealed in its report published on Sunday.
Dozens of soldiers are suspected of having skin lesions caused by the Leishmania parasite, which causes Rose of Jericho disease (leishmaniasis) because they have "ulcerative skin lesions," the Israeli newspaper Maariv reported.
Some soldiers were sent to conduct laboratory tests, the results of which have yet to be received, while others were transferred to dermatology clinics for treatment, it added.
"Leishmania has been a national scourge for several years," Eli Schwartz, an expert in internal medicine and travel medicine at Tel Hashomer Medical Center and president of the Israeli Society of Parasitology and Tropical Diseases, told the daily.
“In Operation Protective Edge (the 2014 war on Gaza) in the summer of 2014, we treated many infections of soldiers who had Leishmania,” the expert said, noting that “the disease made a comeback at the beginning of the fighting on Oct.7."
He explained that the parasite infections did not occur in Gaza, but rather in the area surrounding the Gaza Strip.
"The area has been infested for years with rodents that carry the parasite in their bodies, and with the sandfly, which is particularly common there. The soldiers were infected mainly at the beginning of the fighting when the weather conditions in October were summery - then there is considerable activity of the sandfly,” Schwartz added.
The Leishmania parasite is transmitted to humans through the bite of a tiny fly, each bite leaves an inflamed and painful lesion that does not heal. In some cases, the treatment requires the shutdown of operational activity due to the complex treatment that is carried out in hospitals only. Lesions that are not treated will not be life-threatening, but they will leave scars on the skin for life, according to the expert.
Meanwhile, the newspaper quoted an Israeli army spokesman as saying: “Various actions to prevent Leishmania infection among the soldiers are (being) taken in various units.”
“Explanatory sheets on the subject and mosquito repellent preparations were distributed to soldiers in field units,” the spokesman said.
"All patients who suffer from suspicious symptoms are examined by a military dermatologist, receive appropriate treatment and are referred to a dedicated leishmania clinic as needed,” he added.
Leishmaniasis can manifest in various clinical forms, ranging from cutaneous lesions to visceral involvement, depending on the specific species of Leishmania and the immune response of the host.
Since a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, Israel has continued relentless attacks on the Gaza Strip, killing at least 21,822 Palestinians and injuring more than 56,451 others, according to Palestinian health officials.
Israeli authorities claim the Hamas attack has killed around 1,200 Israelis.
The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in ruins, with 60% of the enclave's infrastructure damaged or destroyed, and nearly 2 million residents displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.
*Writing by Ikram Kouachi