Health: Monitoring a case of diphtheria in Zabadani

Damascus-SANA

The Ministry of Health revealed today that on the seventh of this month, the Ministry of Primary Health Care Directorate reported symptoms of a suspected case of diphtheria, “diphtheria,” for a 27-year-old young man in the Zabadani area in Damascus countryside.

The ministry pointed out in a statement that the instant response was made by taking a laboratory sample from the young man and his contacts and sending it to a specialized laboratory accredited by the World Health Organization in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, in addition to strengthening the work of health surveillance teams in the region and its surroundings, and implementing a local vaccine campaign as a preventive response by giving the pentavalent vaccine to children. Diphtheria.. Tetanus.. pertussis.. Haemophilus influenzae.. hepatitis B” under the age of 5 years, the infantile bivalent “diphtheria and tetanus” vaccine up to 7 years, and the bivalent “diphtheria and tetanus” vaccine for older than 7 years, especially for those whose previous dose exceeded more than 5 years in the entire Zabadani area, noting that vaccination campaigns are continuing in the surrounding areas to raise the percentage of those prevented from the disease.

The ministry stated that the young man’s result was issued today and it was “non-communicable diphtheria”, i.e. a non-severe infection that does not cause an epidemic, and according to the standard definition of diphtheria from the World Health Organization, it is an unlikely case, knowing that it is possible to exist in any society, but the vaccine prevents its transmission, noting that the case is similar. To recover after undergoing treatment without complications.

The ministry also indicated that two suspected cases were also reported in Zabadani on June 19, as the necessary samples were taken and sent to the relevant informant on the same day, and the result has not been issued yet, and the result will be announced as soon as it is issued.

It is noteworthy that diphtheria is a disease caused by a bacterial infection with varying symptoms and may include inflammation in the pharynx, a gray membrane formed by toxin in the pharynx, fatigue, difficulty breathing, fever, and enlarged lymph nodes. Washing hands, in addition to sneezing and coughing with a tissue, avoiding contact with eyes, nose and mouth, avoiding crowded indoor places, and not touching contaminated surfaces.

The Ministry stresses the importance of parents’ commitment to their children’s vaccination schedule to protect them from all dangerous childhood diseases, especially that the most effective way globally to prevent diphtheria infection is to maintain a high level of immunization with the vaccine in the community, and that the anti-diphtheria vaccine is included in the national vaccination program in Syria for children under five years of age and in School age and for women of childbearing age with the tetanus vaccine, which is the reason that led to the disappearance of the disease since the introduction of the diphtheria vaccine in the 1987 national vaccination program.

The Ministry calls for the need to be accurate and to take information from its source, as the Ministry of Health is exclusively concerned with announcing any disease or epidemic, under legal accountability to ensure the health of the individual and society, expressing its appreciation for the efforts of workers in the health directorates who follow up on all diseased cases and their immediate speed in implementing the response just on suspicion. Any illness that could threaten the state of health in the community.

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