An Israeli team specializing in treating victims of burns and respiratory diseases has been using an enzyme-based gel to treat patients suffering from burns resulting from the eruption of the Fuego volcano in Guatemala, The Jerusalem Post reported Sunday. The gel was developed in Israel.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry revealed that the team was using an enzyme that was developed at the Soroka-University Medical Center in Beersheba to treat burn victims.

The gel, which is made from pineapples, is produced by an Israeli company, MediWound, and removes skin damaged by burns, but leaves healthy skin intact. This allows doctors to judge the extent of the burn noninvasively.

Tal Rabin, a paramedic who is part of the Israeli team in Guatemala, saw doctors use the treatment to treat a 42-year-old village leader. The man stayed behind ensuring that others could flee the village. Rabin said, that according to the man’s son, he “didn’t agree to leave until he finished helping get everyone out. That’s why he was severely injured.”

Israel was one of the first nations to send aid following the eruption earlier this month, which has killed more than 100 people.

In May, Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales was in Israel to attend the opening of his nation’s embassy in Jerusalem. Guatemala was the second country to move its embassy to Jerusalem. The United States was first to move its embassy to Israel’s capital earlier in the month.

[Photo: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs / Facebook ]