Rose of Jericho Plague in the IDF: Dozens of soldiers were diagnosed with skin lesions suspected to be the Leishmania parasite that causes Rose of Jericho disease, following bites from the sand fly. In recent years, there has been an increase in infection cases all over the country, apparently due to the acceleration of construction.
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"Maariv" learned of dozens of soldiers who suffered from ulcerative or excretory skin lesions. The soldiers turned to the unit doctors or dermatologists, and they diagnosed suspicion of Jericho's rash. The approximate diagnosis is based on a very painful inflammatory skin lesion, which does not heal and lasts for many weeks. Without treatment, this lesion often leaves scars on the skin.
Some of the soldiers were sent for laboratory tests, the answer to which has not yet been received. For others, operational activity was stopped and they were referred to skin clinics. The test is not performed in the IDF, but in several medical centers in Israel, usually in the skin departments of Tel Hashomer, Hadassah, Soroka and Schneider hospitals – with the answer usually being received after about a week.
"Leishmania has been a national scourge for several years," explains Prof. Eli Schwartz, an expert in internal medicine and travel medicine from the Sheba Tel Hashomer Medical Center, and the president of the Israeli Association for Tropical Diseases, who has been researching and treating Leishmania patients for years. "Already in Operation Tzuk Eitan in the summer of 2014, we treated many infections of soldiers who had Leishmania, and the phenomenon returned at the beginning of the fighting now."
According to Prof. Schwartz, the infections in question with the parasite did not occur in Gaza, but in the Gaza Envelope. "The area has been infested for years with rodents that carry the parasite in their bodies, and with the sand fly 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 sand fly."
The Leishmania parasite is transmitted to humans through the bite of the tiny fly. Any insect may sting a person several times, usually at night, and 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.
"Israel is at the peak of Leishmania, and not much was done at the beginning of the fighting, when the infections were at their peak, to prevent the infection," adds Prof. Schwartz. "We are seeing the results in the last few weeks, when the lesions develop a few weeks after the bite. Despite our warnings for years, not much has been done in the country to eradicate the many infections."
The IDF spokesperson stated in response: "In all IDF units, various actions are taken to prevent Leishmania infection among the soldiers. In this framework, explanatory sheets on the subject and mosquito repellent preparations were distributed to soldiers in field units. In every area where the presence of mosquitoes or soldiers with bite marks was reported, preventive activities were carried out environmentalism.
"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. The IDF has a limited stock of Heshkutan ointment, the production of which was stopped last year, and in the future treatment will be given with a similar preparation that will provide an alternative treatment In most cases, leishmaniasis lesions do not prevent the continued activity of the treated soldiers. Complex cases are evaluated individually by a dermatologist."
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