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Dramatic upscaling of vaccination needed in West Africa to curb deadly diphtheria outbreaks
Press Release 21 November 2023
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BRUSSELS/ABIDJAN – West African countries have been struggling for months with the worst diphtheria outbreak on record on the continent. The problem can only be tackled if all entities step up their vaccination and treatment efforts, says Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). More and faster support for the affected countries is urgently needed to avoid more deaths.
Nigeria, where the first patients were confirmed with diphtheria in December 2022, is experiencing the largest outbreak, with almost 17,000 suspected cases recorded so far. But it’s far from the only country facing the disease: Algeria, Guinea, Mauritania, and Niger have also reported diphtheria cases. Medical teams from MSF in several other West African countries have also seen patients with symptoms that are characteristic of the disease.
Protection against diphtheria, a potentially deadly bacterial infection, is normally offered through routine vaccination programmes. However, in many countries routine vaccination programmes have suffered greatly from underfunding and de-prioritisation.
"We’re not seeing vaccination happen. Not at the scale that is needed. What is needed is a truly massive scale-up of vaccination, as soon as possible."
DR DAGEMLIDET TESFAYE WORKU, MSF EMERGENCY MEDICAL PROGRAM MANAGER
“The many outbreaks of measles we’ve been seeing over the last years were a clear warning sign that the routine vaccination hasn’t reached all children,” says Dr Dagemlidet Tesfaye Worku, emergency medical program manager for MSF in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. “And now we see diphtheria emerge, which is even more worrying.”
It is essential to ensure that people are brought up to date on their vaccinations. Yet so far, only Nigeria has started a crucial, large-scale vaccination campaign. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of the diphtheria patients in West African countries have never received a single dose of the vaccine. In parts of Nigeria, vaccination coverage is as low as six per cent, with other places only having between 10 and 18% of people fully vaccinated. As a result, many people, and young children in particular, are extremely vulnerable to the re-emergence of vaccine-preventable diseases.
Thirty to forty per cent of people with diphtheria may die if they don’t get the right treatment. A specific anti-toxin drug, called DAT, is needed to reduce the risk of death in diphtheria patients. There’s currently a global shortage of DAT, partly because manufacturers didn’t expect large outbreaks to occur with vaccination programmes in place.
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https://www.msf.org/upscaling-diphtheria-vaccination-needed-curb-west-africa-outbreaks
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Related to:
Mauritania - Diphtheria outbreak 2023
https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum...es/981835-mauritania-diphtheria-outbreak-2023
Niger - Diphtheria outbreak 2023
https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum...eats-ah/974217-niger-diphtheria-outbreak-2023
Guinea - Diphtheria outbreak 2023
https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum...seases/978554-guinea-diphtheria-outbreak-2023
Nigeria: 2023 Diphtheria
https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum...dhood-diseases/967321-nigeria-2023-diphtheria
Algeria - Outbreak of diphtheria reported in Tamanrasset
https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/africa/africa-all-other-diseases/976774-algeria-outbreak-of-diphtheria-reported-in-tamanrasset
Press Release 21 November 2023
...
BRUSSELS/ABIDJAN – West African countries have been struggling for months with the worst diphtheria outbreak on record on the continent. The problem can only be tackled if all entities step up their vaccination and treatment efforts, says Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). More and faster support for the affected countries is urgently needed to avoid more deaths.
Nigeria, where the first patients were confirmed with diphtheria in December 2022, is experiencing the largest outbreak, with almost 17,000 suspected cases recorded so far. But it’s far from the only country facing the disease: Algeria, Guinea, Mauritania, and Niger have also reported diphtheria cases. Medical teams from MSF in several other West African countries have also seen patients with symptoms that are characteristic of the disease.
Protection against diphtheria, a potentially deadly bacterial infection, is normally offered through routine vaccination programmes. However, in many countries routine vaccination programmes have suffered greatly from underfunding and de-prioritisation.
"We’re not seeing vaccination happen. Not at the scale that is needed. What is needed is a truly massive scale-up of vaccination, as soon as possible."
DR DAGEMLIDET TESFAYE WORKU, MSF EMERGENCY MEDICAL PROGRAM MANAGER
“The many outbreaks of measles we’ve been seeing over the last years were a clear warning sign that the routine vaccination hasn’t reached all children,” says Dr Dagemlidet Tesfaye Worku, emergency medical program manager for MSF in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. “And now we see diphtheria emerge, which is even more worrying.”
It is essential to ensure that people are brought up to date on their vaccinations. Yet so far, only Nigeria has started a crucial, large-scale vaccination campaign. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of the diphtheria patients in West African countries have never received a single dose of the vaccine. In parts of Nigeria, vaccination coverage is as low as six per cent, with other places only having between 10 and 18% of people fully vaccinated. As a result, many people, and young children in particular, are extremely vulnerable to the re-emergence of vaccine-preventable diseases.
Thirty to forty per cent of people with diphtheria may die if they don’t get the right treatment. A specific anti-toxin drug, called DAT, is needed to reduce the risk of death in diphtheria patients. There’s currently a global shortage of DAT, partly because manufacturers didn’t expect large outbreaks to occur with vaccination programmes in place.
...
https://www.msf.org/upscaling-diphtheria-vaccination-needed-curb-west-africa-outbreaks
-----------------
Related to:
Mauritania - Diphtheria outbreak 2023
https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum...es/981835-mauritania-diphtheria-outbreak-2023
Niger - Diphtheria outbreak 2023
https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum...eats-ah/974217-niger-diphtheria-outbreak-2023
Guinea - Diphtheria outbreak 2023
https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum...seases/978554-guinea-diphtheria-outbreak-2023
Nigeria: 2023 Diphtheria
https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum...dhood-diseases/967321-nigeria-2023-diphtheria
Algeria - Outbreak of diphtheria reported in Tamanrasset
https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/africa/africa-all-other-diseases/976774-algeria-outbreak-of-diphtheria-reported-in-tamanrasset