Several IDF soldiers who served in Lebanon have been diagnosed in recent days with cave fever ('relapsing fever') and hospitalized at several hospitals across the country, including Assuta Ashdod Public Hospital and Ichilov, Ynet has learned. A large number of soldiers who were in the same conditions were also exposed and received preventive treatment. Cave fever is transmitted to humans through the bite and blood-sucking of a tick. It is characterized by fever attacks, manifested by a rapid increase in body temperature. Symptoms also include coughing, shortness of breath, nausea, muscle and joint pain, and skin rash. Most infection cases occur in caves, a small portion in ruins, and a minimal amount from exposure to burrows and dens of animals.