NY Daily News
Children walking to school. Illustration Photo.

Measles ‘Outbreak’ Hits Two Brooklyn Jewish Neighborhoods

Measles is practically the 11th plaguing in two Jewish enclaves of Brooklyn right now.

Health officials have reported 30 cases of the Victorian-era scourge — with 26 in Borough Park and another four in the Hasidic quarter of Williamsburg.

And even though the disease has been practically eradicated, it can still be ruinous to people who decline the vaccination.

“There have been two hospitalizations, a miscarriage and a case of pneumonia as a result of this outbreak,” a Health Department spokeswoman said. “All cases involved adults or children who were not vaccinated due to refusal or delays in vaccination.”

Some parents, including many religious Jews, shun getting the vaccine, which prevents mumps, measles, and rubella, out of fear it causes autism, said Dr. Yu Shia Lin of Maimonides Medical Center in Borough Park.

“We have to tell them it is a very contagious disease and that people can die,” Lin said.

The outbreak stemmed from a visitor from England who showed up in Brooklyn with the virus, which causes red splotches, fever and aches.

The disease spreads quickly in the Orthodox Jewish community, where family sizes are extremely large and many parents decline vaccinations for their children.

“One person gets it and the whole family can get the disease,” Lin warned.

Measles and mumps, like the common cold, is an airborne virus making it easy to catch. It plagued Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries.

In 2008, 30 cases were counted in the city. Followed by 18 cases in 2009, eight cases in 2010, 25 cases in 2011, and five cases in 2012, the Health Department said.

And mumps – linked to a child from Britain – hit dozens of families throughout Borough Park in 2009 as well.

Hasidic parents, out celebrating the holiday of Torah commemoration time of Shavout, said they were unaware that there was an outbreak.

“I am shocked to hear this,” said Moshe Fried.

66 Comments

  • Measles

    Measles went around London and Manchester about 3 months ago.
    How did it get to the USA?

    It only comes when you don’t get an injection.

    • mother

      Measles spread around many families in London and Manchester in early January and is still spreading. All those children in Lubavitch and other Chassidic schools are all children who had none or one of their vacinations.

  • Medical Professional

    Frum parents need to follow the advice of every major government and medical organization and vaccinate your kids. There is no reason not to. Many are under the false impression that vaccines put their children at risk for autism.
    The link between vaccinations and autism was based on contrived data. It has been proven that these vaccinations are safe. Studies involving millions of children showed that there is no higher incidence of autism in children that received MMR vaccinations compared to those who did not.

    • Milhouse

      “Contrived data” is putting it mildly. The truth is that the original “study” that supposedly “discovered” the link between the MMR jab and autism was a deliberate fraud. The doctor who did this “study” has been struck off and may yet end up in prison where he belongs. This wasn’t just sloppy statistical methods, he made up the cases from whole cloth. He didn’t just make a mistake, he set out on purpose to create a panic, to convince people that vaccines were bad, knowing and not caring that children were going to die. Anyone who spreads his lie and convinces parents not to vaccinate their children is either a shoteh or a rasha.

  • Anonymous

    There was much research done in the last decade or more and it showed evidence that there is a connection between some vaccinations and autism.
    My 2 nieces, bright children, have right after the vaccination, became autistic.

    People should at least check out it out and not trust everything that one physician tells them since today physicians benefit from the Pharmaceutical companies and also from specific agencies. another option: the vaccinations could be done with a greater time space between one and another.

    Everything is online today.

    • Milhouse

      This is a complete lie. There is no connection, and anyone who tells people there is such a connection is a shoteh or a rasha — either way, such a person must not be listened to on this or ANY OTHER subject.

      Yes, everything is online today, including your wicked wicked lies. You are a murderer — either beshogeg or bemeizid, but either way people are getting sick and dying because of your lies.

  • Huh?

    Sorry, but they haven’t done a good job of making it sound terribly dangerous. 30 cases of a disease that “spreads quickly”? Like 3 families got it? Let’s panic!!!! RSV causes far more injuries, but we don’t have a good (read: cheap enough) vaccine for it, so nobody worries about it. I’d take my risk with measles over the vaccine, especially since the immunity wears off…

    • Milhouse

      If that is your attitude you have no right to be a parent, and your children should be taken from you.

    • Milhouse

      No, the children who catch measles because their parents are reckless idiots are sick, and so are the children who were vaccinated, or who can’t be vaccinated for some reason, and catch measles from these children who could and should have been vaccinated. They are very sick, and may die, and it’s all the fault of the unfit parents who choose not to vaccinate.

  • Milhouse

    From what I know of parents who worry about this imaginary risk of vaccinations, they’re the same ones who worry about the minuscule risk from metzitzah. And just as they’re willing to let their imaginary fears put their children (and everyone else’s children) at risk of a real and deadly disease, they’re also willing to let their panic override their children’s spiritual welfare, and throw away 3000 years of Jewish belief and practise. In both cases, “al titosh toras imecha”; we have the sensible way our parents and grandparents bequeathed us, to take all sensible precautions for our health by vaccinating against known diseases, but at the same time to do whatever the Torah demands of us even if we’re told that it carries a risk, kal vachomer when that risk is doubtful.

    • I got measles

      It’s a horrible illness & I saw a boy who was left in a permanent coma because the virus went into his brain. I agree with you that these irresponsible parents should stop this nonsense, but I beg to differ with your claims about the MMR triple vaccine. I do believe it causes autism (I know some kids whose “problems” started after their innoculations), BUT parents can simply do what I did: request single dose vaccines. That way their children are protected AND they prevent any fears of complications.

    • Milhouse

      If you claim that the MMR vaccine causes autism then you are either a complete idiot or a deliberate wicked liar. There is NO evidence AT ALL, not even the faintest smidgen, of any such thing, so there is no reason at all to believe it. Only an idiot who believes completely random things could possibly believe it, so either you are such an idiot, or you’re deliberately lying for some wicked purpose.

      You say you know kids who were diagnosed after their inoculations? I’m sure you do, but so what? Only an idiot believes that because one thing follows another the first must have caused the second. Tell me, did these kids ever wear green on a Tuesday? How do you know that didn’t cause it?

      Or maybe it was caused by something they ate. Let’s pick something at random — did they ever eat quinoa? Or did their mother eat quinoa and then nurse them? Maybe that caused it! I have no particular reason to think quinoa causes autism, but that’s exactly as much reason as you do to suspect vaccines. More, actually, because nobody has actually looked at the question. Who knows, maybe there’s actually something to it!

      Or how do you know that it wasn’t because of an ayin hora? Maybe YOU caused their autism, you wicked person! Ayin Hora has more chance of being true than this stupid MMR vaccine blood libel.

  • Parent

    To Mill house How are you writing such bold statements without giving any proof with your comments? Have you done the research? Have you been on the CDC website and read through the Merck Manual and the info from MMWR? Have you done the research regarding the connection between vaccinations and autism or metal toxicity? Do you know anything about the documents, the vaccinations the aluminum the mercury etc…? I would love to know if you are actually educated or just speaking from your rear end?

    • Milhouse

      There IS no connection between vaccinations and autism or “metal toxicity” whatever that is. Both the CDC and the Merck Manual say there is no connection. There is no documentation of any kind for such a link, and the claim that there is one was a deliberate lie from the very beginning. A lie which you are spreading. I guarantee I am far better educated than you, whoever you are.

  • Huh?

    You probably have no children, and have never done any research into vaccine efficacy. One tip: Can you name one commonly feared disease for which herd immunity is impossible? (If not, perhaps you’d better do more research before criticizing others for their informed choices.)

    • Milhouse

      There is no herd immunity for diseases that are not contagious, or for diseases where the vaccine only prevents the symptoms, not the disease itself, e.g. polio.

      Good enough? Now tell me what the #$%& that has got to do with measles.

  • Many people forget...

    …that these diseases killed thousands of children 100 years ago. It is a great brocha that we do have vaccines that can prevent these deadly diseases. Do not be under the misconception that due to the very few cases each year, it is unnecessary to vaccinate your children – the reason for the rarity of the disease is because of the vaccine!

  • oh no

    if you don’t want to vaccinate your children please keep them home. How selfish and irresponsible to put all our kids at risk.

  • to #6

    It seems that cannot conduct an intellectual conversation with name calling. I will repeat it again:

    Fact:
    I have 2 nieces in London (not Chabad), bright children, whom after the vaccination, became autistic,

    It seems from your anger that you must have some part in the pharmaceutical shares.

    • Milhouse

      You are an idiot. Your nieces did not become autistic, they were born autistic.

      And here’s something else that happened before they were diagnosed — they looked at you. They saw you, and then they were diagnosed with autism, so you must have caused it. Or maybe it was wearing clothes that caused it; after all, they wore clothes and then they were diagnosed! That’s it, babies should be kept naked until they’re 3, and then they won’t be autistic! Or maybe it’s orange juice that causes it; did they not drink OJ before being diagnosed?

      The bottom line is that you are an idiot.

  • to mr, milhouse...

    in 10 years time, when the real truth comes out about vaccinations, lets see who will be laughing at who…

    • Milhouse

      The truth is already out, and it shows that you are a vicious wicked liar who is killing children.

  • Rdz

    As with all medicine, vaccines have side effects. Some are very mild, some are not. As Millhouse correctly points out, the connection between autism and vaccines is completely false. There have been several court cases about this and how the team of doctors claiming that there was, were making up their data. All the doctors involved in the original report in England have retracted their claims.

  • Confused

    What kind of dictator are you Milhouse?! Feel bad for the family that has to deal with your dictator style of opinion!

    • Milhouse

      Dictator?! Who’s dictating anything? I’m just telling you that if you don’t vaccinate your children without a very good reason, you are unfit to be a parent, and your children should be taken away from you before you kill them. Today you don’t vaccinate them and tomorrow you’re likely to let them play in traffic.

  • ct

    i’m gonna go out on a potentially argumentative limb and say that 8 out of 10 people/families that I know in Boro Park do not have soap in their downstairs bathrooms, many not in the upstairs bathroom sinks either. I don’t know why Chassidim (on a whole, and I am not really speaking of Chabad Chassidim) are not particular about post bathroom hygiene. Many seem to think that the quick netilas yadayim splash with a kvort of cold water does the trick. it doesn’t. It just spreads their germs to the handles of that kvort. I am so disturbed by these practices that every time I visit friends/family in BP (not to mention restaurants – most of which don’t have hot water, seldom soap, and often a bacteria infested dank towel for those that wash their hands) i go to the kitchen sink to find soap, and don’t touch bathroom handles. everything starts with education. this is not all about a handful of people who choose not to vaccinate.

    • heh heh

      It may be nasty, but it’s probably true. My mother just had to request to change seats on a plane because of the stench from the Chossid (not Lubavitch) sitting across the aisle! But I’m sure he dunked in a mikvah before putting on his filthy clothing. So he’s OK.

  • ct

    ps: i don’t understand why posting ‘medical professionals’ hesitate to write their names/credentials. perhaps you and your word would be respected more if you did.

  • No link between autism and vaccination

    The reason why you think your nieces and nephews became autistic after the vaccinations is because that’s usually when the symptoms of autism manifest themselves.

  • DaasTorah

    It is mamish assur to avoid getting the vaccines. Any parent who doesn’t vaccinate their children are negligent.

  • Open Your EYES

    1. Take a survey of how many thousands (Ken Yirbu) CH kids were vaccinated.
    2. Tally the number of vaccinated kids who are autistic,
    3. Be really brave and tally the number of unvaccinated kids, and how many of them are autistic.

    Oh, by the way, studies show that if you look at photographs of autistic children from when they were infants, you can often tell from the way they arched their neck/back that they already had autism. It just wasn’t full blown.
    Please vaccinate your children or move to an isolated cabin in the woods somewhere – there are very sick children who legitimately cannot be vaccinated, and your neglect puts those innocent children at risk.

  • Yosef

    Milhouse, whether you’re right or wrong about this issue, or any issues. You’re still a nasty troll, doggedly attacking others with a viciousness likely stemming from real, unsettled and unsettling issues. These issues won’t be resolved with all the sensationalist, hyperbolic and vitriolic attacks you can muster against others. All the dogma and bigotry you spew on this or any forum won’t get at this corrosive core.
    Milhouse, you probably hear this often, and it’s true: you need genuine help.

    • Milhouse

      You evidently have no idea what the word “troll” means, and just use it as a random term of abuse. When people spread such wicked lies as this they NEED to be smacked down.

  • I got measles #2

    Millhouse, you really should relax. You won’t convince people to vaccinate if they don’t want to, even if they put their own kids at risk. And you won’t convince people like me who believe there is a correlation between the triple vaccine & autism.

    Unfortunately, in this city parents can “opt out” of vaccinating their kids because of “religious objections.” The Yeshivas & schools, however, should absolutely refuse to accept children who aren’t vaccinated. If they all did that the epidemic would probably be contained. A bonus: after having 5 kids at home all day for a week, the parents will cave in & show some responsibility.

    • Milhouse

      If you believe there is a correlation between the triple vaccine & autism, then you’re every bit as bad as them. You believe, for no reason at all, not just random guesses, which would be bad enough, but something that has been proven to have been a deliberate hoax. There is no question, there cannot be any question, that Andrew Wakefield made the entire thing up himself, out of his own wickedness. He had no evidence, no reason to suppose it was true, he deliberately set out to invent it. And now his hoax has been exposed, so for you to still believe it speaks not just of reckless stupidity but of deliberate collaboration in the hoax.

  • ready for this???!!!

    I was born before there were vaccines for MMR here in the USA a big city. Our biggest fear was polio which a kid in my class got. B”H no one else in the class got it. We all went to get a vaccine that was possibly good for 6 weeks, and we in the class were quarantined to home for a week or so, not allowed to go out or have anyone over. Even our parents kept their distance from us. Ie was a deadly, crippling disease. As soon as the Salk vaccine came out my mother got us to the doctor just as soon as possible. We had all other available vaccines that existed then(smallpox, etc). BUT THESE 3 DISEASES (MMR)WERE KNOWN TO GIVE IMMUNITY IF CONTRACTED BEFORE PUBERTY. wHEN ONE OF THE KIDS IN OUR CLASS GOT ONE OUR PARENTS SENT US TO THEIR HOUSES TO CATCH IT TOO!!(DON’T CHOKE, MILLHOUSE, AND CHECK YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE-QUICK!). THE TRICK WAS TO GET IT YOUNG. Very few parents would give us these vaccines. Given the life-long immunity if kids get them when young,these vaccines are no big deal and not really needed. As for vaccines attempting to prevent polio, smallpox, etc,the benefits very far outweigh any risks. and any vaccine does carry some risks and has caused serious problems, but not like the sicknesses themselves. The trick is to use the vaccines for serious sicknesses.

    • Milhouse

      And what do you do when a child dies of these diseases? The vaccine is much safer than the disease, and gives the same or better immunity.

    • ready for this???!!! wrote:

      #39-Milhouse, my parents were from Europe and our family doctor was American, none of them treated these 3 diseases as serious. Back then, we had no choice, but our ‘self-vaccination’ worked quite well

    • Milhouse

      You are not telling the truth. Doctors not treating measles as serious?! And especially German measles (aka rubella)?! That never happened. Both measles and rubella were quarantinable diseases through most of the 20th century. I’m not sure about mumps.

  • DownSouth

    I, and all my friends, had measles, chickenpox, mumps, and whooping cough as children. No one died or was hospitalized. At worst, we spent a week in bed. These diseases only became so horribly “dangerous” when the drug companies had a vaccine for them (i.e., profit). I have life-long, drug-free immunity to all these diseases. I didn’t vaccinate my children. In the 1940s and 1950s autism was almost unheard of; now it’s everywhere. Nothing happens without a cause. What is significantly different in the medical care of children between 1950 and now? The tremendous number of injections.

    • Milhouse

      Another idiot heard from. You didn’t hear about people being hospitalized or dying from these diseases, and you also didn’t hear about autism, so you imagine these things didn’t exist. All it really shows is that you didn’t hear about a lot of things. I suppose you are also one of those idiots who imagine that cancer didn’t exist before the 20th century, so it must be caused by something new like pesticides.

    • ready for this???!!! wrote:

      Thank you. When the vaccine became available we laughed at it. Vaccines have their uses(don’t forget polio, etc), but this was an obvious scam. As for the connection with autism, I’m not so sure. We can’t forget all the other factors that exist in the USA, such as legal food modification, that don’t exist in other countries. A recent study showed that population groups coming from other countries have consistently fewer allergies than in the USA, but after 10 years their children’s rate of allergies begins to approach the rate of native-born Americans in all classes and groups.Check these news articles: http://now.msn.com/allergies-increase-in-children-after-move-to-america http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db121.htm http://news.yahoo.com/u-born-kids-more-allergies-asthma-200420149.html

    • Milhouse

      If you laughed then you and your friends were foolish. These are serious diseases, occasionally deadly diseases, and normal people took them seriously. Certainly the families of people who died of them took them seriously. Not to mention that girls who are not vaccinated risk getting rubella when they’re pregnant, and that is a terrible terrible thing.

      I have no idea what you mean by “legal food modification” or what it has to do with anything.

      Nor do I know what connection you think exists between allergies and autism. Neither one is well understood, but there doesn’t seem to be any connection between them. And the only connection between allergies and vaccines is that some people can’t get vaccinated because of their allergies, so they’re susceptible to disease, and rely on herd immunity from the people who can get vaccinated. When someone chooses not to vaccinate his children, he endangers not only them, but also those who can’t get vaccinated.

  • Heard from a PHARMACIST

    He said, yes, you should vaccinate. But they give so much at the same time, that in some babies, it can overcome their immune system and wreak havoc on them, resulting in such maladies as autism.
    The Russians say, “the Americans exported autism here…”

    • Milhouse

      Another idiot. There is no reason to believe autism has any connection to the immune system. Nobody knows what causes autism, but one thing we know as certainly as anything can be known: whatever causes it has, vaccination is not one of them. Not one at a time, and not many together; there is no connection at all, and anyone who claims one is either an idiot who should not have a medical or pharmaceutical license, or else a wicked liar.

      By far the most likely explanations for autism are genetic.

    • awacs

      I don’t know if vaccines cause autism (or anything else), or if they don’t. But, after my 18 month old spent a fun-filled weekend in the hospital after the Dr. gave her FOUR shots at once, I made a hard and fast and rule: only one shot per kid, per visit.

      I have no idea if I did the right thing or the wrong one, of course. But, that’s what parenting is all about!

    • Milhouse

      Whatever they may cause, autism is definitely not it. If there were any link, however slight, it would have been found by now.

    • Milhouse

      Just sayin’ what? That there are many morons in the world, and wicked people who make up all kinds of nonsense? Of course there are, that’s no surprise. But in a saner era, such people were ignored.

  • Milhouse

    This is wonderful news. If it pans out, of course. But what does it have to do with the topic?

    • Milhouse

      Note: This was supposed to be a response to “Vaccine for Autism?”, which appears two comments earlier.

  • Not all children can be vaccinated

    My son cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons. Please vaccinate your children and help protect those that cannot be vaccinated. At the very least, send your children to school vaccinated. My son should be able to go to school with his peers and be protected from vaccine preventable diseases. In addition to worrying about his current medical issues, we are now having to worry about the vaccination status of others. A healthy child with no underlying medical conditions will probably be fine if they contract measles…but what about those that aren’t healthy? Please consider the risk that you pose to those sweet children out there whom cannot be vaccinated.

    • Milhouse

      Exactly. Herd immunity protects those who cannot be vaccinated for legitimate medical reasons (such as allergies), babies who have not yet been vaccinated, .and those for whom the vaccine didn’t take (they often don’t provide 100% immunity). When someone deliberately chooses not to vaccinate his child for no good reason, he endangers not only his own child but also all those other people.

  • Enough with the ad hominem attacks

    Dear Milhouse (and some of the others):

    Enough already with the ad hominem attacks — that is, the name-calling.

    If your argument is good and well-reasoned (regardless of which side you’re on, for this issue), you will make your case.

    But this low-down name-calling does not serve you, and is only alienating.

    Also, it is a form of taking revenge, and trying to shame another Yid — both of which are aveiros.

    Please hold by a higher standard than this.

    • Milhouse

      Anyone who spreads the wicked lie that vaccines can cause autism should be ashamed of themselves and should be made to feel ashamed, so that they’ll finally vaccinate their children. It is exactly as stupid as believing that the moon landings were faked, or that the earth is flat, or that Jews have horns. Stupider, in fact, because we know exactly who invented this hoax, and why, and he’s been exposed and is no longer a doctor, and yet people still believe it.

  • BIG DUMMY ME?!

    Milhouse, are you becoming what you’ve been calling everyone else (the i… word)?! The topics are about vaccines and autism. The news story is about a vaccine that can, as a side benefit, help with autism. So, I don’t understand your question,”…what does it have to do with the topic?”

    • Milhouse

      The topic is about parents who don’t protect their children from measles, because they have bought the wicked lie that vaccines can *cause* autism.

      You cited a very nice story about a development that might one day soon produce a vaccine that can *help* alleviate some of the symptoms of autism. That’s wonderful but it’s not really relevant to the topic.

  • I like the irony here

    About the vaccine help autism story:

    It’s kind of ironic that parents are afraid of vaccines because of the fear of autism, yet it may be a vaccine that helps the disorder.

  • Dave

    This upsets me to no end. These people are ignorant but don’t know they’re ignorant. In fact, they think they’re cutting edge and know better than all the scientists and professionals. People, if you don’t vaccinate your children because you fear autism, you are guilty of 1) child abuse, 2) endangering public welfare, 3) selfishness, and 4) stupidity. And I hate you.

    Perfect example of the dangers of ignorance and miseducation. You’re gullible and paranoid and don’t trust basic, proven science.

  • Autism

    It turns out that this “link” link between autism and vaccines has been repudiated. However, many parents believe their kid developed autism as a result of the vaccines for a few reasons.

    #1. Symptoms of autism only start to show at or around the time a child is scheduled to receive the MMR vaccine. This correlation unfortunately perpetuates the misinformation that vaccines cause autism.

    #2. Parents are more prone to blame an external factor for “ruining” their child that to accept the fact that they birthed their child with this condition.

    #3. We are much better at diagnosing autism and can diagnose it at a younger age. This, again, places the diagnosis of autism in the time-frame of the MMR vaccine.

    Just for the sake of information, the author of the article linking autism to vaccines recanted his statement.

    Lastly, there seems to be this prevalent view amongst people claiming that vaccines are unhealthy. They argue that the drug companies are these big evil corporations who are trying to cover up the findings that vaccines cause autism so that they can profit. If these people had any intellectual curiosity, they would do some research and find out that vaccines only make up 2% of the drug companies’ revenue.

    Give it up, guys. There is no conspiracy and, thanks to vaccines, we’ve completely eradicated diseases, like Polio, that have plagued humanity for thousands of years.

    • Milhouse

      “Just for the sake of information, the author of the article linking autism to vaccines recanted his statement. ”

      Actually he has not recanted. He still claims he told the truth. But his fraud was proven beyond doubt, and he lost his medical license. All the data in his paper were made up. He deliberately created this hoax in order to make a parnossoh for himself testifying in people’s lawsuits against the vaccine manufacturers. That is the plain truth. And that is all there ever was to it.

  • "Ad hominem" may be jusitified

    Ad hominem, when debating, means, instead of arguing the point, you call the person a name.
    If, however, you have proof that this is true, then that’s not ad hominem. Now, I’m not Milhouse, but I think that there is enough proof that believing that autism is caused by vaccines makes you just as much and idiot as believing in the tooth fairy, or even “evolution.” Oh, by the way, did you know that 9/11 was perpetrated by our own government just to make the Moslems look bad?

    • Milhouse

      Actually, “ad hominem” means that instead of showing why the point is wrong, you argue that it must be wrong because of who said it. That’s not necessarily invalid, but it’s a weaker method than disproving the point directly. After all, it’s possible for bad people to say good things.

      So for instance if someone cites a quotes “a wise person” and I point out that the quote is actually from Jesus, or Hitler, or Bernie Madoff, that would be an ad hominem argument. The quote might be true, after all, despite who said it; kabel es ho’emes mimi she’omro. Better to disprove it logically. But it’s not invalid to point out that given its origin it’s automatically suspect.