Israel's Health Ministry has reported a new measles case in the Haifa area.
The individual in question recently returned from a trip abroad, and visited a Clalit clinic in Haifa.
In a statement, the Ministry said, "The patient spent time in the following places: Hisky Europe flight H40235, which took off from Bucharest on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, at 11:00a.m. and landed in Ben Gurion International Airport at 1:30p.m.; and at the after-hours clinic at the Lin medical center, Clalit Health Services in Haifa, on Friday, April 26,2024, between 7:00p.m. and 11:00p.m."
The measles virus is extremely infectious, and particles can remain airborne for up to three hours after an infected person leaves a room. Rarely, a seemingly recovered individual will develop SSPE, an incurable and terminal neurological complication, seven to ten years after a measles infection.
Measles made headlines earlier this year, after multiple cases were discovered in northern Israel, along with one in Jerusalem.
Unlike during the 2018 measles outbreak, in the 2023-2024 outbreak, some of those infected were preschool children who had received a single does of the MMR vaccine, in accordance with the guidelines for their age group.
In the 2018 outbreak, nearly all of those contracting measles were infants under the age of 12 months, too young to receive the vaccination, and individuals who were unvaccinated by choice.
The 2018 outbreak saw approximately 4,000 cases, three deaths, and one previously-healthy - but unvaccinated - boy from Immanuel who was still in a coma and on life support years later. It is not known if he is still in a coma, or if he has since passed away.