- Numerous Israeli soldiers stationed near the Gaza Strip border are suspected of contracting leishmaniasis, a skin disease, as reported by an Israeli newspaper.
- The soldiers are believed to exhibit skin lesions caused by the Leishmania parasite, resulting in Rose of Jericho disease (leishmaniasis) with ulcerative skin lesions, as detailed in Maariv.
Israeli soldiers stationed near the Gaza Strip border are suspected of contracting leishmaniasis, a skin disease, as reported by the Israeli newspaper ‘Maariv’ on Sunday. The soldiers are believed to exhibit skin lesions caused by the Leishmania parasite, resulting in Rose of Jericho disease (leishmaniasis) with ulcerative skin lesions. While some soldiers await the results of laboratory tests, others have been directed to dermatology clinics for treatment. Eli Schwartz, an expert at Tel Hashomer Medical Centre and president of the Israeli Society of Parasitology and Tropical Diseases, emphasised that Leishmania has posed a national challenge for several years.
“Leishmania has been a national scourge for several years,” According to statements made to the daily publication by Eli Schwartz, a specialist in internal medicine and travel medicine at Tel Hashomer Medical Centre, as well as the president of the Israeli Society of Parasitology and Tropical Diseases.
“In Operation Protective Edge (the 2014 war on Gaza) in the summer of 2014, we treated many infections of soldiers who had Leishmania”. The specialist highlighted, “the disease made a comeback at the beginning of the fighting on Oct.7″. He clarified that the occurrences of parasite infections took place not within Gaza itself but in the vicinity 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 said.
The transmission of the Leishmania parasite to humans results from the bite of a small fly, each bite causing an inflamed and enduringly painful lesion. Treatment, in certain instances, necessitates operational activity cessation due to the intricate medical procedures conducted exclusively in hospitals. Although untreated lesions are not fatal, they persist as lifelong skin scars, as explained by the expert.
Simultaneously, the publication cited a spokesperson from the Israeli army, who remarked: “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 spokesperson remarked.
“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 further commented.
Leishmaniasis may appear in diverse clinical presentations, spanning from cutaneous lesions to visceral engagement, contingent on the distinct species of Leishmania and the host’s immune response.
Since October 7th, Israel has persistently launched ruthless assaults on the Gaza Strip, resulting in massacring a minimum of 21,822 Palestinian lives and leaving over 56,451 individuals wounded, as reported by Palestinian health authorities.
The Israeli assault has devastated Gaza, causing 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure to be either damaged or demolished. Nearly 2 million residents are displaced, grappling with severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.
