Israel's measles epidemic hits Jewish communities in New York and New Jersey

Rockland County, NY, has 68 confirmed cases of measles. The borough of Brooklyn in New York has 24; Lakewood, N.J., at least 11.

According to US health authorities, the "culprits" are people who have recently returned from Israel and have unconsciously brought the disease back.

According to the Israeli Ministry of Health, 1,401 cases of measles have been diagnosed in the country since the beginning of the year. A young child died of the disease.

The American victims are for the most part – but not all – ultra-Orthodox children whose parents have chosen not to vaccinate them, believing that the vaccines are in fact dangerous to health or could be the cause of death. # 39; autism. They live in isolated Jewish religious strongholds such as Monsey, New Square, Williamsburg and Boro Park. Many of these communities frequently visit families in Israel, who also live in neighborhoods where the vaccination rate is well below that of 95% in the rest of the country.

Measles is a very contagious virus. His best-known symptoms are a red rash all over his body and a high fever. However, it is the accompanied cough and runny nose that most easily infect others, as droplets from coughing or sneezing can persist in a room up to two hours after departure. sick.

Since symptoms usually develop only 10 to 12 days after exposure, an infected person who takes the plane would probably not be aware of the potential danger to others – especially babies, the elderly, pregnant women and people with chronic diseases or a suppressed immune system.

According to US Jewish news websites, health authorities in New York and New Jersey "encourage the exclusion of unvaccinated children from schools, kindergartens and daycares located in the area. epidemic". Many religious schools and synagogues have become proactive in informing families that unless they and their children have been vaccinated, they can not attend classes or services.

Major Jewish religious organizations, including the Orthodox Union and the Rabbinical Council of America, as well as prominent rabbis from Chicago, New York, and New Jersey, have called on parents to vaccinate their children without delay, religious imperative to save lives.

In Israel too, rabbinical figures urge members of the ultra-orthodox sector to get the necessary injections. "Whoever does not get vaccinated is a murderer," said a leaflet signed by several rabbis. (World Israel News)