A one-and-a-half year old toddler died of measles in the Beit Yisrael neigbourhood of Jerusalem, on Saturday, marking the sixth death of this type since the outbreak began, and the third in the past week alone.
Paramedics had found the kid unconscious and began CPR, before transferring him to Hadassah-University Medical Center, on Jerusalem’s Mount Scopus, where intensive resuscitation efforts continued, but the teams were ultimately forced to declare him dead.
Another case happened when a one-year-old baby who was rushed to the hospital in critical condition, after three weeks of suffering from the disease, and was declared dead while undergoing prolonged resuscitation.
The third case this week was a one-year-old baby that died after almost two months hospitalized in critical because of measles. She suffered from severe breathing difficulties and was connected to an ECMO machine.
Also last weekend, another toddler, who was not vaccinated, was pronounced dead.
Measles crisis in Israel
As of Saturday, 21 patients have been hospitalized with measles, with most of them being children up to the age of 6 who were not been vaccinated against the disease. Seven of them are hospitalized in intensive care, and one is connected to an ECMO machine.
The Health Ministry warned about the disease, saying its very contagious and can cause severe complications, including pneumonia, encephalitis and even death, especially among infants, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems.
Measles is transmitted through the air through coughing or sneezing, and infects over 90% of unvaccinated people who are exposed to the disease. The first signs usually appear about two weeks after infection, and include high fever, dry cough, runny nose, red eyes and a characteristic rash that starts on the face and spreads throughout the body.
Currently, an active measles outbreak is registered in the localities of Jerusalem, Beit Shemesh, Bnei Brak, Harish, Modi'in Illit and Nof Hagalil. Vaccination stations established in these cities can be vaccinated without an appointment.