Measles epidemic in Jerusalem • Municipality: Haredim don't take vaccinations

Since January 2013, it was reported to the Epidemiology Division at the Ministry of Health about 22 patients with measles, many of them Haredi from Jerusalem and one from the health bureau in Petah Tikva.

A study conducted at the Ministry indicated that most patients aged up to 30 years – were not vaccinated. Following this, Shlomo Raska, Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem and the one who holds the welfare portfolio, contacted the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Shlomo Moshe Amar, requesting an announcement that will increase the awareness of vaccines in the Haredi public.

"Unfortunately there is a certain disregard for vaccines among the Haredi community, a large segment of the public are not vaccinated" wrote Raska. "Currently a measles plague broke out in Jerusalem, and if the Haredi population which has not yet been vaccinated will not get it - they may be exposed to measles, G-d forbid."

At the end of the letter Raska explains, "The municipality manager trusts us that each of us will contact the public he represents in order to prevent the spread of measles."

According to the data, first exposed in Behadrey Haredim, patients in Jerusalem are concentrated in two communities: 11 patients Romema Jerusalem, 9 patients in local settlements of Bar Giora, Nes Harim and Tzur Hadassah and one patient in East Jerusalem.

Epidemiological correlations were found between all patients in Romema among themselves: seven patients in 3 families and others related to those patients through educational institutions. A connection was found between all patients in Yehudah: eight patients in 3 families and another patient who contracted the disease from kindergarten through touch.

So far, there is no common thread between the two points themselves.

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!