A 1-year-old child died of measles Wednesday morning, health officials in Jerusalem said, marking the 14th fatality in a months-long outbreak that has swept through ultra-Orthodox communities and areas with low immunization rates.

The country is in the midst of its worst measles epidemic since 2018-2019, though the current outbreak has seen significantly more deaths, indicating that the disease is reaching more vulnerable populations and that sick babies may not be getting medical care in time.

The measles death is the second in under a month; a 11-month-old baby died at a Jerusalem hospital on January 8.

Most of the victims have been healthy children with no underlying conditions who were not vaccinated against measles.

According to Health Ministry data, 14 people are currently hospitalized with measles, including four in intensive care.

The baby who died Wednesday was brought to Hadassah Mount Scopus Hospital in Jerusalem in critical condition, and was pronounced dead after being rushed to the emergency room.

In a Health Ministry video published following the death, Dr. Uri Pollak, acting head of Hadassah Medical Center’s pediatric cardiac critical care unit, said patients were failing to receive medical attention in time.

“Most fatalities are caused by going to the hospital or the doctor too late,” he said.

As of Wednesday, there have been 2,898 confirmed cases since the outbreak began in May, over 60% of whom have been children under the age of 5, according to Health Ministry data.........

© The Times of Israel