Low immunisation rates in the Charedi community due, in part, to “a mistrust of secular authorities” are behind a current measles outbreak among strictly Orthodox children, a Stamford Hill doctor has said.
An outbreak of measles in London’s strictly Orthodox community – believed to have come from Israel – has led to more than 500 children receiving emergency vaccinations.
More than 60 separate cases have been reported since the beginning of October, affecting a number of children who have never been immunised, the Times reports.
The vast majority of patients live in North London’s strictly-Orthodox community, centred in the boroughs of Hackney and Haringey – the largest such community in Europe.
The outbreak, feared to be the most serious in decades, is believed to have been brought to the UK by Charedim returning from Israel after the chagim in September.
Joseph Spitzer, a GP at Stamford Hill’s Cranwich Road Surgery, attributed the outbreak to immunisation rates in the strictly Orthodox community, which he said were “definitely lower” than in the general population.
Dr Spitzer told the JC: “Over the last four to six weeks we’ve known there was a measles outbreak among the Charedi community in Israel. It has now reached our shores.
“It is definitely lower than the general population and there are lots of reasons for that.
“Some people will say it is due to the fact that they have large families and therefore they cannot keep up with the immunisations.
“I would say that with having children there are responsibilities, and one of those responsibilities is to ensure that one’s children are immunised and protected against these horrible diseases.
“I’d go further and say that parents who don’t avail themselves of immunising their children are absolutely irresponsible, and I feel quite strongly about this.
“I feel strong enough to say that parents need to immunise their children before it’s too late, because a dead child cannot be immunised.”
Dr Spitzer also suggested that “urban myths” regarding MMR vaccinations – such as the since-debunked link to autism reported by Dr Andrew Wakefield – contributed to the low immunisation rates.
He added: “There is also a little bit of what you might call ‘Charedi urban myth’ and a mistrust of the secular authorities.
“The epidemic will burn itself out, as all epidemics do in time, but I hope that people will learn from it and in future not play Russian roulette with their children.”
Last year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that measles had been “eliminated” in Britain – meaning there had been so few reported cases that it would theoretically take three years to spread among the general population.
But a 253% increase in reported cases between January and October this year has renewed fears in the medical community.
The potentially-fatal disease can lead to several serious complications, including pneumonia and encephalitis.
Anyone in Britain vaccinated since 1988 who has not had both doses of the MMR vaccine is at risk.
In Israel, more than 2,000 people have been infected since March. Gal Gadot, the Israeli actress who played Wonder Woman, and Bar Refaeli, a model, actress and TV presenter, have joined a social media campaign to boost levels of inoculation in their country.
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