10 Cholera Cases Reported in Israel; Impossible for Disease to Spread, Officials Say

The Ministry of Health has cancelled the leaves of all Public Health doctors, sanitation engineers and other sanitation staff members because of the 10 cases of cholera which has been reported in Israel. None of the 10 persons afflicted are reported in danger. Despite the new cases, health officials reiterated that there would be no mass inoculations against the disease even though there may be more individual cases reported. Dr. Daniel Brachott. deputy director general of the Ministry of Health and director of Public Health services said. “With our standard of hygiene and our knowledge of early detection and treatment, we are certain that the spreading of the disease is impossible. For this reason, we do not intend to inoculate the population except for medical staff and other persons who may be exposed to personal contact with cholera carriers.” Meanwhile Israel repeated its charges that neighboring Arab countries were not reporting their cholera cases in violation of the statues of the World Health Organization which imposed a duty upon all member countries to report cases of communicable diseases. He said that while there was no cooperation of any kind in the field of epidemiology between Israel and her Arab neighbors. Israel was willing to cooperate with them.

(At the United Nations in New York. Dr. Rodolphe Coigney, director of the World Health Organization announced that 28 cases of cholera had been reported in Libya, and a 20 month old boy had died of cholera in the Saida area of Lebanon. Dr. Coigney reported that Arab health ministers were meeting to find ways of dealing with the cholera problem with help from WHO officials. He said that Egypt was producing great quantities of cholera vaccine.) Despite the reports of cholera spreading in the Mideast. tourist traffic to Israel was not affected. Large numbers of tourists continue to leave France for Israel and neither Air France nor El Al report any cancellation of bookings. (In France it was reported that no cholera vaccination was needed for passengers leaving for Israel. Such vaccination is compulsory, however, for passengers leaving for Arab countries in the Middle East.) (In London, Michael Davis, an advisor to the World Health Organization and professor of Ecology at Hebrew University Medical School, stated there was no danger of an epidemic spread of cholera in Israel due to the general high standard of hygiene and water supply.) In Israel it was announced that outgoing tourists will find vaccination facilities available at Israeli ports of departure. Tourists arriving in Israel from Jordan or other Arab lands will be required to have a valid international vaccination certificate.