Six-month-old unvaccinated baby hospitalized with meningitis

A six-month-old baby who did not receive routine vaccinations has been hospitalized in stable condition in the pediatric intensive care unit at Shaare Zedek with bacterial meningitis. Doctors attribute the illness to the Haemophilus influenzae type B bacterium, which can be prevented by a vaccine included in the health basket. A senior physician emphasized the importance of vaccines in preventing life-threatening illness.

A six-month-old baby who did not receive routine vaccinations has been hospitalized since in the pediatric intensive care unit at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, after being diagnosed with bacterial meningitis caused by the Haemophilus influenzae type B bacterium. The bacterium is included in the routine vaccination program given to all infants in Israel. The infant was brought to the emergency room with a high fever and poor general condition, and after tests the disease was diagnosed. He was transferred to intensive care for observation, where his condition was stabilized and he is fully conscious. He is expected to later be transferred to the pediatric ward for hospitalization. Dr. Amir Zilka, a senior physician in the unit, emphasized that this is a life-threatening disease that can be prevented by a simple and safe vaccine, and warned of long-term complications such as neurological damage.