IDF Soldier Dies of Treatment-Resistant Fungus from Gaza, 10 More Infected

[David__77]

An IDF fighter who was seriously injured two weeks ago died on Tuesday after being infected by a dangerous fungus found in the soil of the Gaza Strip, Reshet Bet Radio reported. The fungus has infected ten other fighters.

The deceased fighter arrived with serious injuries to his limbs at Asuta Hospital in Ashdod, where they identified that he had been infected with treatment-resistant fungi. The doctors tried every possible treatment, including experimental treatments from abroad, and brought in every specialist they could, but in the end, the fungus invaded vital organs in the soldier’s body and he died.

…

Rahav noted that the Association for Infectious Diseases is troubled by the number of resistant bacteria and infections found in soldiers who were wounded in the Gaza Strip. “All the hospitals are reporting that soldiers return from the battlefield with resistant infections. We see them mainly in limb injuries, fungal infections, and resistant bacterial infections.”

“We know that Gaza is saturated with highly resistant bacteria. This information was accumulated in studies we did in the past with doctors from Gaza, and we also know these bacteria in children who were transferred for treatment in Israel from Gaza hospitals.”

…

https://www.jewishpress.com/news/israel/idf/idf-soldier-dies-of-treatment-resistant-gaza-fungus-10-more-infected/2023/12/26/

[ColinC]

1. Just think of all the Palestinians also dying of this infection

[David__77]

7. And those deaths aren't included in the count from missiles and bombs.

[Mountainguy]

29. I'm sure they are

Along with a bunch that never happened.

[Butterflylady]

41. And you know this how?

[Mountainguy]

43. Because Hamas lies

Why do you think they wouldn't lie about that?

[Sky Jewels]

13. Yeah, apparently Palestinians don't really count as full humans who are

worthy of consideration and sympathy in the face of disease, not to mention as humans who should be allowed to live lives free from apartheid and genocide and the destruction of their towns and homes.

[Maraya1969]

2. I wonder why that area has so many treatment resistant bugs in that area?

[David__77]

3. This article cites factors including insufficient supply of medicines.

Antimicrobial-resistant infections have been a huge problem in Gaza for years, he said, because of the use of unsuitable antibiotics or patients’ failure to complete courses of treatment due to drug shortages.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/as-soldier-with-fungal-infection-dies-fears-grow-of-gaza-diseases-spreading-into-israel/amp/

[LeftInTX]

6. I dunno? I did read you can obtain antibiotics OTC in most Arab countries. So I'm sure it applies to Gaza.

In fact, you can obtain them OTC in Mexico. My friend was gonna get me some amoxicillin, but I forget to give her some cash.

This can lead to people having a stock at home (Like we do with Tylenol), taking them for a short time (like for a few days) or taking them when you don't need them, and then stopping them.

Antibiotic resistance is common in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Yemen war zones.

Then there is sewage toxins in Gaza and ugly stuff in the soil that is brought up from blasts. Sandy soil is the best filtering soil, but I guess underneath all soils toxins accumulate. I live where it is mostly clay and the soil becomes more anaerobic at a certain depth. You have bombing craters that are bringing up toxins that have filtered down. Then you have heavy metals from munitions. Then you have sewage, which once again has toxins. All this makes any antimicrobial work harder.

https://www.quora.com/Why-arent-antibiotics-available-over-the-counter-in-the-US-but-they-are-in-other-countries

Antibiotics are often available OTC in developing countries. (Asia, ME, Latin America and Africa) I know they're dirt cheap to purchase in Mexico.

[womanofthehills]

23. Little water & few toilets available

Some of the Palestinians who are now living in tents in Southern Gaza have like 2 toilets for hundreds of people & the population now has bloody diarrhea, scabbies, hepatitis , lice, jaundice, kidney disease, upper respiratory disease, food poisoning, UTI’s , etc.. The people have no way to bathe & no access to toilets & antibiotics says UN. People with bloody diarrhea just going in the streets or wherever.

This could actually cause some new world diseases.
More info at:
https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/12/middleeast/gaza-diseases-spread-what-we-know-intl/index.html

[brush]

32. What a colossal mess. WIth all the toxins, bacteria, fungi, sewage, not clean water, hardly any toilets...

bombings stirring it all ulp, people living on top of each other breathing all that mess in...Gaza has to be the unheatlhiest place in the world righ now. And all the airborne toxicity won't stay withing the borders of Gaza.

Look out Israel, the West Bank, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and all the surrounding countries.

[womanofthehills]

33. On Dec 4, the sewage system collapsed

Pumping stations ran out of fuel and sewage ran down the streets of northern Gaza. So the soil is contaminated with sewage.

[COL Mustard]

4. It makes me wonder

If this isn't biowar on the part of Hamas.

[JustAnotherGen]

5. That's where my mind went

Who knows what Iran, and Russia via Iran has supplied the terrorists with.

[Orrex]

12. Or it could be the result of millions living for years in a crowded open-air prison

[David__77]

17. Sounds likelier.

[womanofthehills]

25. Or people already living in one of the most crowded places on earth

All forced to go South by Israel - and Becoming the most crowded place on earth ever - and having no access to water or toilets. Maybe Israel bombing all but a few hospitals might be contributing & barely letting food, water and medical supplies in - plus Israel is big on killing doctors, nurses, Red Cross workers, UN staff & ambulance drivers.

[WhiteTara]

28. you left out reporters.

[womanofthehills]

37. Sadly - now over 100 reporters have been killed

Along with their children & many members of their families.

[WhiteTara]

39. there's no problem if you don't report it.

[LeftInTX]

19. These things happen in every ground war. Trench foot, jungle rot, burn pits etc

[womanofthehills]

26. Never have this many people been so trapped

Gaza’s open prison is 25 miles long - Now that they are forced south, are these 2 million people now living in an area of 10 miles by 5 miles???

[womanofthehills]

38. But - this is different because the sewage systems need fuel

Dec 4 - when the system in northern Gaza stopped - feces ran down the streets contaminating buildings, roads, soil. Some Israeli injured IDF soldiers have Klebsiella bacteria among other bacterial and fungus strains. Klebsiella is fine if it stays in your intestines but deadly in an open wound.


“What Is Klebsiella Pneumoniae? From WebMD

Klebsiella pneumoniae are a common type of bacteria found in your intestines . They are normally harmless. But Klebsiella pneumoniae can be dangerous if they get into other parts of your body, especially if you’re already sick. They can turn into “superbugs” that are very hard to fight with antibiotics. The germs can give you pneumonia, infect your wound or blood, and cause other serious problems. “

[Oneironaut]

22. I wouldn't think so. More just that battlefields are extremely dirty.

You have dead bodies everywhere (human and other animals). There’s stagnant water everywhere baking in the sun and multiplying bacteria and fungus. Societies without adequate sewage systems or garbage disposal compound these issues.

Modern society is very removed from the concept of one small cut on your finger leading to a life-threatening bacterial or fungal infection. Not having mass casualties from disease in armies is a relatively new phenomenon.

[brush]

31. Not just small cuts getting infected by bacteria or fungi, but fungi one can breathe in...

like "valley fever" or other infectious, airborne diseases. This fucking war just keeps getting worse.

Now it's not just bombs and bullets killing people on both sides.

[womanofthehills]

34. No - Israel stopped fuel into Gaza

So no pumping stations working and feces streamed down the streets of northern Gaza.

[Turbineguy]

8. A nice epidemic would save Hamas some trouble.

[David__77]

9. Epidemics don't stop at borders.

[Turbineguy]

11. Hamas wants to kill everybody.

[Sky Jewels]

14. As does Netanyahu.

[Autumn]

16. Hamas isn't alone in that respect. Netanyahu is right with Hamas on that.

I imagine years of being kept in an open air crowded prison there would be a lot of bacteria there. And more

[womanofthehills]

27. I think that's Netanyahu-

He might also contribute to some new diseases that do in the whole world.

[womanofthehills]

35. It could spread to the whole world

Plus- injured IDF soldiers are bringing the fungus into Israel hospitals.

[PufPuf23]

10. Resistant bacteria and fungi; antibiotics are for bacteria not fungi.

War-related infections probably not so great for civilians and children wounded in Gaza too.

But worry about infections from Palestine babies in Israeli hospitals.

[Autumn]

15. My heart breaks for the Palestinian people.

[limbicnuminousity]

18. This warrants attention

Though the article doesn't identify the fungal pathogen, there are at least two candidates that would have potential implications beyond Gaza.

One is Candida aureus, some strains of which are resistant to common anti-fungal medications. It can cause life-threatening complications and is on the uptick globally (yes, in North America too). It's often found in waste water and sewage contaminated soils like you'll find in an urban war zone. Or maybe ghettoized urban tenements. Or urban areas where the instruments of governance no longer function at a necessary threshold. Or homeless encampments without reliable access to public utilities.

The second would be Valley Fever/coccidioidomycosis. Its prevalence hasn't changed much. It appears to be commonly associated with contaminated soils. It was endemic to the American Southwest, but appears to be expanding into the American Southeast. The alarming possibility there is that Valley Fever can cause chronic conditions and reduce life expectancy by 5-10 years.

The odds for survival following infection by either agent are dramatically improved through prompt access to quality medical care. During wartime, soldiers are unlikely to prioritize medical care when it only starts out with a sniffle and there's a war going on. I genuinely worry about the long term effects of contagion for all of the people living in that part of the world.

I also worry about the US (and the rest of the industrialized world). Pestilence arises when we ignore the fact that people are living in subhuman conditions. Contagion spreads when insufficient resources are devoted to community health care. Priorities matter.

[harumph]

20. excellent post

thank you.

[mainer]

21. I'm not aware coccidiomycosis exists outside north america

I would think aspergillosis is a more likely problem. It’s theorized also to be the culprit in “King Tut’s curse,” which caused the deaths of several people who excavated in the Valley of the Kings.

[limbicnuminousity]

42. Totally agree

Aspergillosis is definitely plausible. Personally....epidemiology is NOT my specialty...I'm just not sure about Valley Fever. It seems plausible based on the conditions, but I'm not aware of specific reports of Valley Fever in or around Israel. Aspergillosis as well as Candida aureus are highly plausible candidates for whatever affected the soldiers.

Valley Fever...that's an intuitive leap and it may be a leap too far. My reasons for looking twice at VF:

1) coccidiodomycosis is on the uprise and spreading through the lower half of the US.
2) the early symptoms are easy to ignore, which lines up with what we know about the IDF soldiers.
3) fungal diseases sporadically occur outside of their regular zone of distribution and there is a LOT of American technology and military ordnance in and around Israel.

I hope you're right about Aspergillosis and thank you for pointing out the statistical probability.

[womanofthehills]

36. These include highly resistant bacterial strains of Klebsiella and Escherichia coli, and Aspergillus fungi.

According to this article.

https://www.firstpost.com/explainers/why-israeli-soldiers-death-from-fungus-infection-in-gaza-has-experts-worried-13550552.html

[Maru Kitteh]

24. Resistant fungi in particular are a rising global threat, bacteria as well, and any place

such as India where you have people living in highly concentrated areas serve as nurseries for more efficient and sturdy organisms.


We are most decidedly not the "top" of the food chain.

[brush]

30. If the IDF soldiers are getting it, so are the Gazans. Wonder if it's from the whie phophorous bombs...

or any of the other explosives dropped by the air strikes?

What a disaster.

[gulliver]

40. Investment in Gaza will be possible once Hamas et ilk are done away with

I'm not usually an optimist, but I think the future for Gaza is bright once the chemo is over.