Year-old child dies of measles in Jerusalem, in 14th fatality of outbreak

Senior doctor says most deaths occurring in cases where children not taken to hospital in time; four patients currently in intensive care with disease, Health Ministry data shows

A 1-year-old child died of measles Wednesday morning, health officials in Jerusalem said, marking the 14th fatality in a months-long outbreak that has swept through ultra-Orthodox communities and areas with low immunization rates.

The country is in the midst of its worst measles epidemic since 2018-2019, though the current outbreak has seen significantly more deaths, indicating that the disease is reaching more vulnerable populations and that sick babies may not be getting medical care in time.

The measles death is the second in under a month; a 11-month-old baby died at a Jerusalem hospital on January 8.

Most of the victims have been healthy children with no underlying conditions who were not vaccinated against measles.

According to Health Ministry data, 14 people are currently hospitalized with measles, including four in intensive care.

The baby who died Wednesday was brought to Hadassah Mount Scopus Hospital in Jerusalem in critical condition, and was pronounced dead after being rushed to the emergency room.

In a Health Ministry video published following the death, Dr. Uri Pollak, acting head of Hadassah Medical Center’s pediatric cardiac critical care unit, said patients were failing to receive medical attention in time.

“Most fatalities are caused by going to the hospital or the doctor too late,” he said.

As of Wednesday, there have been 2,898 confirmed cases since the outbreak began in May, over 60% of whom have been children under the age of 5, according to Health Ministry data. Hospitalizations were recorded in 973 of the cases.

“Measles isn’t a disease from long ago,” Pollak said. “It’s here, it’s happening now, and it’s life-threatening.”

Some two-thirds of the cases have occurred in Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh, both of which have large ultra-Orthodox populations. Outbreaks have also been recorded in other towns with sizable Haredi communities, including Bnei Brak, Harish, Modiin Illit, Beitar Illit, Netivot, Safed and Nof Hagalil.

A contagious but preventable disease

Measles is a highly contagious viral disease characterized by fever, malaise, a runny nose, and a rash.

The rash generally appears three to five days after the first symptoms, beginning as flat red spots on the face and then spreading downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs, and feet. When the rash appears, the fever may spike over 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius), according to the US Centers for Disease Control.

Pollak said that as soon as these symptoms appear, medical care should be sought.

He also said that the best way to stop the spread of the disease is by vaccination, which is “safe and effective, and has been used in Israel and worldwide for decades.”

Most children will recover from measles, but infection can lead to dangerous complications such as pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and death.

The routine vaccination schedule recommended by Israel’s Health Ministry includes two doses: at the age of 1 and in first grade.

However, due to the outbreak, the ministry now recommends giving a preliminary, additional dose for infants aged six months to one year in high-incidence areas in Jerusalem, Beit Shemesh, and Bnei Brak, and has expedited the administration of the second dose in those areas.

The previous outbreak that began in 2018 also largely centered on ultra-Orthodox communities, with over 4,300 cases reported nationwide, though only two confirmed deaths.

When herd immunity dips below 95 percent

In 2015, Israel declared itself measles-free following years of intensive and widespread vaccinations.

The return of the disease has been linked to declining immunization rates. According to the US Centers for Disease Control website, measles outbreaks are now happening in every region of the world.

In communities with a vaccination rate of above 95 percent, measles has a harder time spreading because of what is called “herd immunity.”

However, a small increase in the number of parents choosing not to vaccinate “is enough to rapidly trigger the kind of outbreak that we’re seeing now in Israel,” said Prof. Michael Edelstein, a public health expert at Bar-Ilan University’s Azrieli Faculty of Medicine.

In November, a study by Edelstein found that Israeli parents had become more likely to skip vaccines since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The research showed that 6.6% of Israeli parents who vaccinated an older child before the pandemic chose to withhold at least one key childhood immunization from a younger sibling born afterward, such as the measles-mumps-rubella and diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccines.

One reason that people are skeptical about vaccines is that “they have been so successful that diseases like measles have almost disappeared,” said Edelstein.