IDF Soldier Dies from Severe Fungal Infection – Gaza Strip

TEL AVIV, KOMPAS.com – Ichilov Hospital on Thursday (28/12/2023) confirmed that a soldier who was injured while serving in the Gaza Strip died from a severe fungal infection.

“The soldier in question indeed died at Ichilov Hospital due to an invasive fungal infection,” said an infectious disease specialist at Ichilov Hospital, Dr. Eugene Katchman, to The Times of Israel.

The IDF confirmed the soldier’s death on Thursday, but said the cause was still under investigation.

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The IDF told The Times of Israel that as far as they know, this is the only case of a soldier being infected with the deadly fungus. They did not share the soldier’s death date.

Previously, Israeli media on Tuesday (26/12/2023) reported that around 10 other soldiers were believed to have the same fungal infection and were being treated in Israeli hospitals.

The IDF said the source of the fungus may have come from Gaza soil, but this is still under investigation.

Assuta Medical Center in Ashdod told The Times of Israel on Wednesday (27/12/2023) that the soldier who died was initially treated there, then transferred to Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, where he died.

An Assuta spokesperson declined to provide dates related to the soldier’s arrival at Assuta or his transfer to Ichilov for privacy reasons.

Israel’s Ministry of Health issued a statement to The Times of Israel saying that serious injuries can affect the immune system, increasing the risk of infection.

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“This is a phenomenon known to the medical world and also occurs in cases not related to injuries on the battlefield. In cases of serious and complex injuries in the field, the source of infection can be soil, but this is not a new occurrence or something that only related to Gaza,” the statement said.

News that one or more injured IDF soldiers were found to be suffering from a serious infection has the public on edge about what could happen to other ground troops, the hostages held in Gaza, and Israeli public health.

Nadav Davidovitch, an epidemiologist who heads the School of Public Health at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, said untreatable infections are not a danger to Israeli society.

According to Davidovitch, the types of antimicrobial-resistant infections that wounded soldiers may bring home from Gaza are generally not something that those who are not immunocompromised or have intact skin need to worry about.

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“We’re talking about a soldier who was in the field for weeks or months and then was seriously injured by, say, an explosion that broke his bones and tore his skin,” Davidovitch said.

“If he had been lying on contaminated soil – perhaps from sewage – his wounds could have become infected. We have seen this in previous wars. This is nothing new,” he said.

Davidovitch emphasized that it is very important to evacuate injured soldiers to medical facilities as soon as possible to reduce the possibility of infection and noted that the IDF is doing well in this regard.

According to Davidovitch, microbes (fungi, bacteria, parasites and fungi) are specific to their environment. For this reason, those in Gaza are different from those found in Israel, but not necessarily stronger.

“However, fungi are very difficult to deal with. They are not supposed to be in the blood, so when a wound allows them to get into the blood, it can be a big problem,” says Davidovitch.

He did not expect to see fungal outbreaks in Israeli hospitals as a result of soldiers returning with such infections.

Davidovitch also ensured that hospital staff would take appropriate precautions, follow laboratory techniques properly, and carry out appropriate monitoring.

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2023-12-29 14:13:00
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