Israel’s Health Ministry has reported an unusual incident in which a doctor at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv contracted measles virus after treating a girl who was not vaccinated against the disease and contracted it.
At the same time, there is concern that two others on the medical staff were also infected.
“The Health Ministry and Ichilov Hospital are conducting a thorough epidemiological investigation, and the matter is being investigated and followed,” a statement read. “The Health Ministry reiterates its call for the public to get vaccinated.”
Last week, an unvaccinated two-year-old girl died at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem from complications caused by measles, raising the death toll of the ongoing outbreak of the disease to eight, all under the age of two and a half years.
The hospital stated that the toddler was hospitalized at the pediatric intensive care unit ten days ago in severe conditions with complications of measles and was connected to an ECMO machine.
Over 1,880 patients have been diagnosed with measles since the outbreak began in April.
“We know that the illness is being underdiagnosed, and there are a few thousand additional patients with the disease,” Sharon Alroy-Preis, Israel’s chief epidemiologist, said. So far, 562 patients have been hospitalized, of whom 90% are children, the majority of whom are unvaccinated. “It is clear to us that the morbidity continues and will continue. We hope that we won’t see an additional increase in scope, but we need to remember that there are still thousands of unvaccinated children in Jerusalem and other localities.”
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