An Israeli flight attendant is in a coma after being hospitalized with measles at the end of March, according to an NBC News report.
The unnamed 43-year-old woman works as a flight attendant for national airline El Al. The nation’s health ministry reported a passenger with measles on a March 26 flight from New York to Israel, warning all passengers and crew to be on the alert for symptoms of the disease.
ADVERTISEMENT
Israel has dealt with an outbreak of measles in recent weeks, with the Ministry of Health announcing Wednesday that it will keep family care centers open during Passover to allow unvaccinated children to receive the measles vaccine.
“It is vital to stress that people with symptoms of fever, runny nose and cough should stay away from public places such as shopping malls, public transportation, social gatherings and the like,” the ministry wrote.
This week, Iowa reported its own first case of measles since 2011, attributing it to an unnamed resident of the northeastern part of the state who contracted the disease on a trip to Israel.
Cases of the disease, thought to be eliminated in 2000, are up 300 percent globally in 2019, according to the World Health Organization, the third consecutive year reports of the disease have increased.
Overall, 112,163 cases have been reported in 170 countries in the first three months of the year, and the WHO estimates fewer than 1 in 10 cases are reported globally. The increase in 2019 has been primarily concentrated in Asia and Africa.