Two new cases of poliomyelitis (infantile paralysis) were confirmed by the Health Ministry Sunday. They brought to seven the total number of cases reported in Israel in the past several weeks.
The latest victims are an 18-year-old youth from Kibbutz Ein Shemer, near Hadera, and a 9 month-old baby from Ashkelon.
The Health Ministry said its policy is “not to initiate reports about any new polio victims, but merely to confirm or deny reports from outside, as we do not want to cause any panic in the public.”
The first two cases diagnosed were a 26-year-old teacher and a 3-month-old baby, both from Or Akiva near Hadera. They are still hospitalized, in serious but stable condition.
Medical specialists at the Health Ministry are said to be recommending a switch from the oral polio vaccines, which contain live viruses, to the older vaccines with dead viruses, which are administered by injection.
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