Measles Outbreak: 6th Toddler Death This Year

Jerusalem. The sixth toddler died in Israel after a severe measles outbreak this year. The Ministry of Health announced that an almost two -year -old had succumbed to viral disease in Jerusalem on Saturday. A spokeswoman confirmed that all six fatalities were not vaccinated toddlers under the age of 2.5.

24 other measles sufferers would still be treated in the hospital, most of them unvaccinated children under the age of six. Seven of the children are therefore in the intensive care unit.

“Clear connection” between the outbreak and the low vaccination rate

Measles are among the most contagious infectious diseases and can be life -threatening in extreme cases. The doctor Rebecca Brooks, head of the children’s department in the Hadassah-Har Hazofim hospital in Jerusalem, sees a “clear connection” between the measles outbreak and a low vaccination rate in the particularly affected areas.

Most of the sick have parents who fundamentally rejected vaccinations. However, children who are either too young for vaccination or who could not get them for health reasons are also affected.

In Israel, children usually get the first vaccination dose against measles and the second at the age of six. In view of the severe outbreak, however, the Ministry of Health recommended that younger children are now vaccinating in affected areas. “After the second dose, vaccination protection is 95 percent,” said Brooks.

Strict -religious residential areas particularly affected

Strictly religious Jews are particularly affected by the latest outbreak, many of whom rejected a vaccination, the pediatrician said. Since the Corona epidemic, distrust of vaccinations has deepened.

A measles disease weakens the immune system, she said. If ill people are then not vaccinated against other infectious diseases, the disease would also open the door and gate.

The current measles breakout can also endanger vaccinated children, said Brooks. This mainly affects those children who would only have received a vaccination dose. “This disease is just so contagious,” warned Brooks. Herden immunity is particularly important for babies, which is only achieved with a high vaccination rate among the population.

RND/DPA