Yemen has been battling a cholera epidemic that has infected about one million people. Yemen is now seeing a spike in diphtheria cases that will inevitably erupt into a larger, deadly outbreak because so few people have been immunized, aid officials said.
At highest risk are children, who account for many of the more than 280 suspected diphtheria cases and 33 associated deaths reported as of Tuesday. Most of the cases and deaths involved children who had not been immunized against the disease, a contagious and potentially fatal bacterial infection that spreads easily, WHO said. The diphtheria spread is inevitable in Yemen due to low vaccination rates, lack of access to medical care and so many people moving around and coming in contact with those infected, said WHO and officials with Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF). Diphtheria spreads as easily as the common cold through sneezing, coughing or even talking. As many as two in five diphtheria cases end in death
"Left unchecked, diphtheria can cause devastating epidemics, mainly affecting children," Tarik Jasarevic, a WHO spokesman, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
"There is the potential for a larger-scale outbreak of diphtheria, given that not everyone has been vaccinated," said Marc Poncin, emergency coordinator in Yemen for MSF. "Even for patients who want to seek treatment, the blockade on fuel and consequent surge in prices means that they cannot afford to travel to the very few health centers still operational," said Poncin.
Calling it "very worrisome," Caroline Boustany, an aid worker with the International Rescue Committee, told the Foundation: "We have a spike in cases of a very easily preventable disease."
At highest risk are children, who account for many of the more than 280 suspected diphtheria cases and 33 associated deaths reported as of Tuesday. Most of the cases and deaths involved children who had not been immunized against the disease, a contagious and potentially fatal bacterial infection that spreads easily, WHO said. The diphtheria spread is inevitable in Yemen due to low vaccination rates, lack of access to medical care and so many people moving around and coming in contact with those infected, said WHO and officials with Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF). Diphtheria spreads as easily as the common cold through sneezing, coughing or even talking. As many as two in five diphtheria cases end in death
"Left unchecked, diphtheria can cause devastating epidemics, mainly affecting children," Tarik Jasarevic, a WHO spokesman, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
"There is the potential for a larger-scale outbreak of diphtheria, given that not everyone has been vaccinated," said Marc Poncin, emergency coordinator in Yemen for MSF. "Even for patients who want to seek treatment, the blockade on fuel and consequent surge in prices means that they cannot afford to travel to the very few health centers still operational," said Poncin.
Calling it "very worrisome," Caroline Boustany, an aid worker with the International Rescue Committee, told the Foundation: "We have a spike in cases of a very easily preventable disease."
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