The recent measles epidemic in Israel has been making waves abroad, as U.S. health authorities on Thursday issued a travel advisory saying that anyone traveling to Israel must be vaccinated against the highly contagious disease.
The warning was released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is responsible for protecting public health and safety through the control and prevention of disease in the U.S. and internationally.
Some 1,400 Israelis have contracted the disease so far in 2018. Last week, an 18-month-old toddler died of measles in Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, the ultra-Orthodox community in Israel has begun fighting the outbreak by calling on constituents to receive vaccinations.
Senior rabbis, among them of the Edah Haredit Rabbinical Court Vice President Rabbi Moshe Sternbuch, signed a petition saying that foregoing vaccination was akin to murder.
Rabbi Dr. Menachem Chaim Breyer, Deputy Director of Mayanei Hayeshua Medical Center in Bnei Brak, said, "Unvaccinated children must get vaccinated immediately."
Breyer told online haredi news portal Yeshiva World that "the fear is not just in Israel, but global," as the number of documented measles cases was climbing.
According to an Israel Hayom investigation, the unprecedented outbreak is the result of a series of mistakes by Health Ministry officials. Senior doctors and medical directors described the case as a "grave failure."
