Israeli health authorities are taking precautions to avert a possible outbreak of cholera that could be brought into the country by persons arriving from Italy. A severe outbreak in Naples has claimed nine lives and the disease has also broken out in the eastern Italian seaport of Barl.
The public here has been warned to pay special attention to personal hygiene and to carefully wash all fruit and vegetables. Health officials are scrutinizing passengers arriving from Italy by plane and ship for signs of the disease. All arrivals in the country from Italy are given a list of local doctors and advised to see one if they begin to feel sick.
Dr. Amos Arnan, head of the Health Ministry’s Public Health Service, said on radio that there was no cause for alarm and no need for mass vaccinations. “If anyone carrying cholera germs arrives in Israel we will be able to identify him immediately and administer the appropriate medical treatment to prevent the spread of the disease,” Dr. Arnan said. In recent years Israel has had cholera outbreaks centered in the slum quarters of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv but prompt medical measures averted an epidemic.
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