Child Dies from Measles in Yerushalayim

An 18-month-old infant died from measles on Thursday in Yerushalayim.

The child was rushed to Shaarei Tzedek Hospital on Thursday afternoon after losing consciousness. It was not breathing and had no pulse upon arrival at the hospital. Resuscitation efforts failed to save the child’s life, and doctors confirmed that the death was from measles.

In light of the fact that the baby was reportedly not vaccinated against the disease, the Ministry of Health again urged parents to have their children vaccinated as soon as possible.

According to official statistics, approximately 900 cases of measles have been reported in the country. Around 60 percent of those infected are residents of Yerushalayim from the chareidi sector, many of whom are not vaccinated, according to a report on Arutz Sheva.

The Ministry of Health has said it will be sending out special mobile vaccination units to those high-risk neighborhoods to perform the vaccinations and stem the spread of the disease.

Moshe Bar Siman-Tov, the director-general of the Health Ministry, warned of sterner measures if necessary:

Health officials “don’t want to start talking about sanctions, but if we see a danger to the population because of people who won’t vaccinate, then we will look into the possibility that such a child will not be allowed to go to school,” Siman-Tov told Hadashot news on Thursday.

The move is not intended as a punishment, he emphasized, “but in order to protect the other children in the school.”

Prof. Shai Ashkenazi, director of the Israeli Pediatric Society, said that measles “was on the cusp of extinction, but because of a decline in vaccination has made a big comeback. In Europe, too, in the first half of 2018 there were more than 41,000 incidents of infection with at least 37 deaths.”

He favors passage of a law to require vaccination.