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Source: http://www.bclocalnews.com/vancouver_island_central/nanaimonewsbulletin/news/91775529.html
Diagnosis of diptheria very rare
By Jenn Marshall - Nanaimo News Bulletin
Published: April 21, 2010 3:00 PM
Updated: April 21, 2010 7:22 PM
A young Nanaimo woman is recovering in hospital after contracting diphtheria.
The disease is extremely rare in Canada because the diphtheria toxoid has been included in the standard childhood immunization schedule for about 80 years.
Between 1998 and 2008, only one person became sick from diphtheria in B.C., according to B.C. Centre for Disease Control statistics.
The acute bacterial disease can affect the nose and throat or skin, and can spread through the body and damage the heart and central nervous system. About 10 per cent of cases are fatal.
Dr. Lorna Medd, central Island medical health officer with the Vancouver Island Health Authority, said the woman?s contraction of diphtheria was ?bad luck? ? she had an underlying medical condition and had not been immunized.
?She was unprotected and vulnerable,? she said. ?This is an unusual case. We haven?t seen a case here in many, many years.?...
Diagnosis of diptheria very rare
By Jenn Marshall - Nanaimo News Bulletin
Published: April 21, 2010 3:00 PM
Updated: April 21, 2010 7:22 PM
A young Nanaimo woman is recovering in hospital after contracting diphtheria.
The disease is extremely rare in Canada because the diphtheria toxoid has been included in the standard childhood immunization schedule for about 80 years.
Between 1998 and 2008, only one person became sick from diphtheria in B.C., according to B.C. Centre for Disease Control statistics.
The acute bacterial disease can affect the nose and throat or skin, and can spread through the body and damage the heart and central nervous system. About 10 per cent of cases are fatal.
Dr. Lorna Medd, central Island medical health officer with the Vancouver Island Health Authority, said the woman?s contraction of diphtheria was ?bad luck? ? she had an underlying medical condition and had not been immunized.
?She was unprotected and vulnerable,? she said. ?This is an unusual case. We haven?t seen a case here in many, many years.?...