Dozens of Israeli soldiers are suspected of being infected with parasitic Leishmania around the Gaza Strip, Israel’s Maariv newspaper quotes medical sources as saying.

The report said dermatology clinics in Israeli hospitals are conducting laboratory tests for dozens of soldiers.

The Leishmania parasite is transmitted to humans through the bite of a tiny sandfly. Each bite leaves a painful inflammatory skin lesion that does not heal and lasts for many weeks. If untreated, the lesions often leave permanent scars on the skin, Maariv reports.