כ״א תשרי ה׳תשפ״ז | October 2, 2026
Hatzalah Issues Meningitis Warning in Crown Heights
Crown Heights Hatzalah warned the community after a young man was hospitalized with meningococcal meningitis, a potentially severe infection that can spread through close and prolonged contact.
Crown Heights Hatzalah issued an urgent alert Friday after a young man was taken to the hospital with meningococcal meningitis, an infection that Hatzalah warned can become extremely serious for those who contract it.
Hatzalah said the infection is transmitted through droplets of saliva and can be contagious to people who have had close and prolonged contact with an infected person. Hatzalah stressed that treatment must begin immediately, and urged anyone experiencing fever or headache, with or without a rash, while feeling “unusually ill,” to seek medical attention right away.
New York City health officials say meningococcal disease generally requires close or prolonged contact to spread. Close contacts can include people living in the same household, intimate contacts, or those who kissed or shared drinks, eating utensils, or other items exposed to the infected person’s saliva. Casual contact in a classroom, office, shul, or similar setting is generally not considered an exposure.
Health officials say people who have had close contact with someone with meningococcal disease may need preventive antibiotics, which should be given as soon as possible, even if they have previously been vaccinated.
Symptoms can appear between two and ten days after exposure, most often within about five days, and can progress rapidly. Health officials list fever, headache, stiff neck, vomiting, confusion, severe muscle aches, cold hands and feet, unusual weakness, and rash among possible symptoms.
Hatzalah said it is fully updated on the situation and can direct those who need assistance to appropriate medical care.
COMMENTS
All Shabbosim and Yomim Tovim communal food, given out, the GUEST grab food with their hands, and sometimes even worse, the person eating, remains standing over the plate of food, as they continue eating, with food particles from their hands and mouth, falls back in to communal bowl!
This also happens by Buchrim Farbrengens, especially in 770
and is at it’s most extreme, with Israeli Guests visiting in C.H. and worst of all, is by the Yearly Big Street Kidushim,.
outside 770.
Right now there is a looming pandemic coming out of Russia.
The way the GUESTS (especially Israeli’s) stick their hands in to public food bowls, it’s a complete miracle that everyone in in C.H. don’t ALL get sic from CROSS CONTAMINATION.
Non of the Big Famous Doctors in C.H., have ever warned C.H. not to eat from such Kidushim, unless they want to PLAY WITH FIRE, to eat contaminated food (contaminated by all guests sticking their hands inside.
Also Hatzala has not yet warned C.H. not to eat from unsanitary Kidushim, where guests eat with their hands and stick their hands back and forth in to the public food source.
To prevent another Pandemic, be it
Covid-19
or being the current “C.H._meningitis”
Or it being the current Brewing Russian Pandemic …..
****They all spread through SALIVA****
as Hatzalah says
Saliva is on the food your (guests) eat which CROSS CONTAMINATES the public food supply.
To see an example of how this works:
Just walk in to 770, full of Israeli guest and JUST LOOK and WATCH how, by every single one of their Farbrengens, they ALL stick their hands, which they eat with, back in to the public food supply, the public food bowl.
This can also be seen, every Motzoey Shabbos at the weekly Siyum Horambam in 770
At this public Siyum Horambam, although some people do use, spoons and forks, but the cross contamination still happens BIG TIME because each bucher eating with his own spoon, The takes MORE food,
***with the same Salive_Spoon, ***
which he had in his mouth !
The most mind boggling thing is:
אין פוצה פה ומצפצף
No one, even realises, that anything is wrong with this dangerous “Russian roulette” widespread מנהג
Especially by the Israeli guests.
Please dont take this as a “put down” or criticism of any particular guests from any one particular country. ח”ו
We love all our guests but but with widespread massive overcrwded gatherings, it require far higher standards to avoid disease cross contamination.
חמירא סכנתא מאיסורא
This is, an ongoing cross contamination,
****TICKING TIME BOMB****
at all food Farbrengens especially with massive influx of guests from outside the USA.
Call to all c.h. physicians:
Where do all of our C.H. physicians, stand on this issue?????
So far they haven’t said a word about this, “ticking time bomb,” yet,
אין סומכים על הנס
Neither have we heard yet from Hatzalah on this pending danger of food cross contamination, especially in extremely crowded settings like Tishrey and Yomim Tovim massive public FARBRENGEN
ונשמרתם מאוד לנפשותיכם
*****There is a REASON****
Why every year, at this time of year, its very common that “every other person”, feels sic afterwards.
הלא דבר הוא
Its not a coincidence!
And its not “the weather.”