Hundreds were stung by the “Rose of Jericho” strike in Ofakim

Nathalie Mofakim spent all her time in the yard of her house in the evening and did not imagine that the next day she would find herself hospitalized with 68 sand fly bites. And her case is not the only one – Ofakim suffers a blow from the “Jericho rose” with hundreds of residents recently stung.”Jericho rose”, or by its other name Leishmania, is a skin disease caused by a parasite that is common among rock rabbits and is transmitted by the bite of a sand fly. The sandflies, despite their name, are actually a type of mosquito, despite their outward resemblance to flies. Like any other mosquito, female sandflies feed on blood, but unlike other common species, they can transmit Leishmania parasites to humans.

 

The dermatologist who received Natalie immediately referred her for medical treatment at Soroka Hospital, where she is currently hospitalized with painful wounds as a result of the bites. “It itches like crazy, I have pain, dizziness and scars that are going to stay with me for the rest of my life,” Natalie said painfully.

 

She ordered pest control for her entire house and garden, and after her family members were stung, she decided to open a WhatsApp group, which was joined within a few days by 500 other residents from the area – who complained that they too or their family members had been stung by the sand fly.

 

 

 

The photos that the residents send in the group are not easy to view – babies with large wounds all over their faces and bodies. One of them is that of Oriya, whose one-and-a-half-year-old son started to have sores last month, which spread all over his body: “It didn’t itch or hurt him, the sores just didn’t look good and over time they got dirty. We are also currently hospitalized in Soroka Hospital.”

Odelia, mother of a two-year-old toddler who was stung in the face, said that he has had strange wounds on his face for about two months. “Everywhere we go, annoying flies are attracted to it and I didn’t understand why,” she said, “3 weeks ago we went to the family doctor who recommended a laboratory test to make sure it was indeed Leishmania and the test came out positive.”

“We got a special ointment that we’ve been applying for 3 weeks and it’s only getting worse,” Odelia continued, “I’m not sure it hurts him, it’s more annoying. The problem is that the ointment is also applied and gets into his eyes and it causes him tears and secretions – just a nightmare.”

For several years, the Ofakim municipality has been dealing with the plague of sandflies that come to the city and its surroundings and transmit the Leishmania disease through their bites. According to the website of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, “sandflies are small flying mosquitoes that are common in many parts of the country, they are active in the hot season, mainly in the evening and at night. Their bites are painful and disturbing and can transmit to a person a parasite of the type Leishmania, also known as the Jericho rose.”

The ministry’s website explains that sandflies become infected with parasites after they bite infected animals and transmit them to humans during the bite.

 

 

 

Today, there is really no effective and legal pest control against the fly, so the municipality finds itself helpless in the face of the residents’ outcry and advises them to protect themselves. The municipality intends to soon submit a petition against the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Health demanding reinforcement and investment of resources to carry out research and find a solution to the problem.

In the meantime, the residents claim that the answers they receive from the municipality and the Ministry of Health and the authorities responsible for pest control are illogical and that it is not possible to continue living in a city where you cannot go out in the evening and you have to walk around in long clothes. “We dress our children in long clothes so the mosquito bites them in the face,” said another resident. “I’ve already heard of parents who dressed their children in long clothes even in the summer and left them with only sandals so that if they were bitten it would be on their legs and they wouldn’t have wounds all over their bodies.”

According to the Ministry of Health data, in 2024 only 160 cases of Leishmania infection were reported in Israel, but the residents claim that only in Ofakim there are hundreds of residents who contracted the disease and that the figures are incorrect. According to them, the family doctors, who are supposed to inform the Ministry of Health in every case they come across, do not do so. “It’s really a phenomenon,” claimed Keren, a resident of the city.

 

 

 

“The city is infected and you should consider running away from here,” claims another resident. “It’s an epidemic with a record outbreak and it’s multiplying over the years.”

At Soroka Hospital they report that recently they have noticed an increase in the number of infected people. “In the south, this parasite is found more in the sands of construction sites, and the one that infects humans is the mosquito that injects the parasite,” explains Dr. Yulia Waldman Grinshpon, director of the Dermatology Department in Soroka.

She also noted that following the war in the south, the hospital received many inquiries about Leishmania among soldiers as well. According to Dr. Grinsfon, if Leishmania once existed only in the Jericho area (hence the name it received – “Jericho Rose”), today the disease is widespread in other areas in the south such as Ashkelon and Rahat and there is a constant increase in the number of infected people.

“We explain to the patient that it is usually a disease that does not require treatment because the external health system of a healthy person needs and knows how to deal with the parasite, but it may take time,” she continued, “in some cases there are multiple lesions or a lesion becomes large and painful and then we offer treatment to speed up the the process or to prevent future aesthetic damage.”

 

 

 

Dr. Grinsfon claimed that if the number of lesions is relatively small and the lesion itself is not inflamed, then it is possible to offer treatment using an ointment according to the prescription of a dermatologist who examined the case. The lesion is performed by a dermatologist in hospitals, outpatient clinics or part of the community in some cases.”

Ofakim Municipality responded: “The municipality has been working for many years to monitor the sand fly in close and full cooperation with the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Health in order to find a solution to the phenomenon. As part of the collaborations, the authority conducted joint studies together with the appointed ministries on the issue, which unfortunately turned up a mess.

The Authority is in direct contact with all the parties responsible for the matter and makes clear to them the plight and the serious harm to the residents and residents of Ofakim. Unfortunately, according to the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Health, to date no solution has been found to remove the nuisance except for the residents to defend themselves. We express great disappointment in the face of this answer, because in 2024 we still have not found a solution to a phenomenon that harms many citizens.

The municipality of Ofakim and its leader understand to their hearts and hear the cries of its residents and are working these days to submit a joint petition with the residents of the city against the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Health, demanding reinforcement and investment of resources to carry out research and find a solution that will prevent the terrible phenomenon.

The Ministry of Health responded: “The district health office does not recognize the increase in the number of hospitalized people, and the issue is being examined with the local authority. The Ministry of Health recommends that in order to reduce exposure to mosquitoes, use mosquito repellents, as well as equip yourself with long clothes and accessories that prevent mosquitoes from entering homes. In addition, bites can be treated by Ointments, pills or injections that can shorten the duration of the appearance of the scar, after consulting with The attending physician. It should be noted that the extermination is done by the local authority and the supervision by the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection stated: “Based on the data from the Ministry of Health that was transferred to the Ministry of Environmental Protection, there are 14 cases of Leishmania on the horizon from the beginning of 2024 until today. The incubation period lasts two weeks to several months, so the cases reported now are the result of previous bites. Today, in light of the change in weather, the number of sand flies has decreased significantly. There are pesticides allowed for spraying sandflies, but their effective application requires a large-scale pest control every few days, and for this there are many disadvantages in light of The risk of these pesticides to humans and the environment.”

Despite the claims of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Mital Haber, director of the skin department in the Saled community and coordinator of the skin department in the southern district of the General Hospital, stated that in an examination she conducted, it appeared that in recent months there were hundreds of patients diagnosed with mosquito bites – the vast majority from the Ofakim area. “Patients come with different degrees of efflorescence,” explained Dr. Haber, “When a patient comes with a suitable clinic, there is no need for a laboratory sample, but when this has been done, it can be said that it is a strain of Leishmania major, which is the less inflammatory strain that in most cases passes and can leave A scar after a few months. On the other hand, it can be seen that some patients come with signs of painful lesions on the face, joints or multiple lesions that require intravenous treatment in day hospitalization or at least an injection into the lesion,” said Dr. Haber. In light of the understanding of the uniqueness of the phenomenon in Ofakim, the treatment was made available to a general clinic in the city