Dozens of tiny babies and their mothers were exposed to the measles Wednesday after a Bnei Brak resident brought his six-year-old son to visit his wife after she had just given birth.
The child — who was never vaccinated — turned out to be infected with measles, according to a report broadcast on Israel’s Channel 2 television news.
Tragically, the six-year-old should never have been in the maternity ward in the first place: hospital rules at Maayanei Yeshua prohibit visiting by young children due to the risk that new mothers and babies might be exposed to illnesses. In fact, a security guard is posted at the entrance to the unit as a precaution.
It is unclear how the child’s father managed to bring his six-year-old into the department to visit his mother and newborn sibling against hospital rules.
Ultimately, the lapse in security and total disregard for the welfare of others by this father resulted in the exposure of 15 new mothers and 50 newborns to the measles infection — all of whom now urgently require vaccination against the illness.
The problem is, newborn babies are too tiny to be able to tolerate a vaccine against measles.
This is why the rabbis have ruled that such flagrant lack of consideration for the health and welfare of others by not vaccinating one’s self or their children, and then entering a crowded area where others might be exposed, is likened to “spilling blood” under Jewish law.
Some Jewish communities are beginning to prohibit such families from participating in synagogue, and are asking them not to bring their children to school until 21 days after the last case has been diagnosed.