From Cholera to Diphtheria, Shattered Health System Battles a New Threat

Yemen

Cases of cholera may have declined in Yemen, but the ongoing war and blockade are creating a new threat to public health as a suspected diphtheria outbreak takes hold.

By 4 December, 318 suspected cases of diphtheria and 28 deaths had been reported in 15 of Yemen’s 20 governorates. Half the suspected cases are children between the ages of five and 14, and nearly 95 per cent of deaths are children under 15. Nearly 70 per cent of all suspected cases are in Ibb governorate.

Diphtheria is a contagious and potentially fatal bacterial infection, mainly characterised by a thick grey membrane at the back of the throat or nose, sore throat and fever. It can be prevented through vaccination.

Marc Poncin, MSF’s emergency coordinator in Ibb, said:

“Globally, diphtheria has been eradicated from most countries after systematic childhood vaccination campaigns, and it’s become something of a neglected and forgotten disease. Even in Yemen, the last diphtheria case was recorded in 1992, and the last outbreak in 1982. The ongoing war and blockade are sending Yemen’s health system decades back in time.”

Poncin adds:

“After two and a half years of violence and a blockade on supplies including medicines and vaccines, the healthcare infrastructure is in tatters. The blockade on fuel has meant that patients cannot afford to travel to the very few health centres still operating across the country. This is crucial, because if people infected are unable to access treatment regularly, diphtheria can spread in the body and be fatal in up to 40 per cent of the cases.”

Humanitarian actors are also struggling to start diphtheria treatment and prevention activities due to the ongoing logistical difficulties in bringing specialised staff and needed supplies into Yemen and to areas where they’re most needed.

“This is undeniably another human-made disease inflicted on a country that has barely recovered from a massive cholera outbreak, which is not even over yet,” says Poncin.

“Globally, the decline of diphtheria in recent years was accompanied by a concrete loss of knowledge regarding its treatment. This is making it much more difficult for health workers to quickly and correctly identify, isolate and treat cases.

Read full report on MSF website, December 12, 2017.