"We are experiencing an increase in measles cases due to a reduction in immunization. We urge parents to immunize their children against this disease."
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFUpdated: OCTOBER 22, 2018 19:01Vaccine syringe(photo credit: INGIMAGE)
A child was admitted to Schneider Children’s Medical Center in Petah Tikva with measles, the hospital reported on Tuesday.The one-year-old toddler was admitted last week to Schneider’s Emergency Medical Department, where he was diagnosed with the infectious disease.Following the diagnosis, some 70 children in the hospital who were exposed to the child were quickly removed from the premises. The few children who were at risk were given preventive treatment, according to the Health Ministry.Prof. Yitzhak Levy, director of the infectious disease unit at Schneider, said in a statement on Tuesday: “We are experiencing an increase in measles cases due to a reduction in immunization. We urge parents to immunize their children against this disease.”This latest case came despite the Health Ministry’s recommendation that all Israelis be vaccinated against measles.Measles is one of the most serious infectious diseases. Symptoms of measles typically appear seven to 14 days after a person is infected and can include a high fever, coughing, a runny nose, red or watery eyes and sometimes tiny white spots in the mouth – known as Koplik spots – which can appear two or three days after the onset of symptoms, if at all, the Health Ministry said.Forty-two residents of Israel were reported to have contracted measles in June and 130 in March. Naomi Grant contributed to the report