Health Ministry says unvaccinated 18-month-old dies of measles

The Health Ministry reports the death of an 18-month-old toddler who contracted measles.

The unvaccinated boy arrived at the emergency room of a hospital in Jerusalem after being ill at home for several days.

This follows the death from measles of a 2-year-old unvaccinated boy on Wednesday.

Since the measles outbreak began in Israel about three months ago, as of last Thursday, 526 cases of measles have been diagnosed, of which 209 are active cases. Most of the recently diagnosed patients are from the Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh area, with most of the hospitalized patients being unvaccinated children.

As of last Thursday, 19 children are still hospitalized, all under the age of 6.

Two of the children are in intensive care, and one is still connected to a life-support system.

Measles is a highly contagious viral disease characterized by fever, malaise, runny nose, and rash, and it can lead to severe and even life-threatening complications.

The ministry urges parents to complete their routine vaccinations, especially the measles vaccine.

Vaccination status is available in the digital vaccination registry on the government’s website.