Southern Province of Binh Phuoc Declares End of Diphtheria Outbreak

Vietnam’s Binh Phuoc on November 1 announced that the province had eliminated an outbreak of diphtheria on the district-level. On June 22, the outbreak was first reported in Thuan Loi and Thuan Phu communes of Dong Phu district. The disease claimed three lives, two in Thuan Loi and the other in Thuan Phu. Binh Phuoc province declared a district-level diphtheria outbreak in July 2016. Up to 47 people were hospitalized with the disease. The provincial Health Department worked with the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City to conduct tests, sterilization and assess treatment. Health agencies said that this was the first outbreak of diphtheria in the province, with the infected cases mainly from 6 years old to 26 years old. The disease occurs when diphtheria bacteria is transmitted to humans through respiration, leading to fever, sore throat, heavy coughing and headache. (vnexpress.net Nov 1)