Measles outbreak: stewardess in coma after contracting measles, possibly during a flight between Israel and New York

New York – An air hostess from El Al Airlines is now in a coma and is fighting for encephalitis after being contracted measles. The Israeli Ministry of Health says that she may have contracted the disease in New York, Israel or during a round trip flight between the two.

The 43-year-old was apparently healthy before falling with a fever on March 31, reports CBS New York. Due to complications from measles that resulted in inflammation of the brain, she has been in a coma for 10 days and needs a respirator because she can not breathe alone.

The unnamed flight attendant received only one dose of measles vaccine in her childhood, according to reports.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, two doses of MMR vaccine is 97% effective in the prevention of measles, while a dose is effective at about 93%. Since 1989, it is common practice to take two doses. However, according to experts, many people born before do not know if they are up to date.

"Many parents do not know what their immunization status is," said Dr. TJ Gold, a Brooklyn pediatrician. "If they have records, it would be wonderful to check and make sure you got that second reminder."

Since October, 329 cases of measles have been confirmed in Brooklyn and Queens, and at least 186 cases in the suburbs. Rockland County. New York City has declared a public health emergency on the epidemic and ordered mandatory vaccinations in a Brooklyn neighborhood for people who may have been exposed to the virus. Israel is also in the middle of a measles epidemic. Most of the cases in New York mainly involve members of ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities.

The news of the serious illness of the flight attendant follows the news of a man on a trip from New York who would have been infected without his knowledge by measles and who, after traveling in the Michigan, reportedly transmitted the virus to 38 other people.

Health officials urge parents to vaccinate their young children before traveling for Passover and the Easter holidays. The CDC recommends that infants aged 6 to 11 months receive one dose of the vaccine; children 12 months and older should have received two.