Infection hazard
Details
This is an expired event!
Event title
Dominican Republic - Diphtheria: Dominican Republic reports 3 unrelated cases, No outbreak
Source
Event date (UTC)
2021-02-22 00:05:57
Last update (UTC)
2021-02-22 00:05:57
Latitude
18.896684
Longitude
-70.49003
Area range
Local event
Address
-
The Dominican Republic Ministry of Public Health (El Ministerio de Salud Pública de República Dominicana) confirmed this Wednesday that three cases of diphtheria have been reported in the country so far this year, while ruling out an outbreak due to this contagious disease. The director of Epidemiology of the Ministry of Public Health, Ronald Skewes, said at a press conference that the cases, which were registered in Neiba, Baní and San Cristóbal, “are not related.” At least one is a child who died from the disease. The Dominican Republic recorded three cases of diphtheria last year, while in 2019 seven were reported. The last outbreak of the disease in the country was in 2004, when 122 cases were confirmed. Diphtheria is an infectious disease caused by bacteria that lodge in the throat and is transmitted from person to person, usually from an older person to a minor.