An epidemic of diphtheria has been raging in Yemen since 2017. Affecting children in particular (80% of cases), it is the cause of more than 13,000 infections and more than 70 deaths. In order to derail it, theWorld Health Organization (WHO), Unicef and local authorities have just vaccinate 2.7 million young children, aged 6 months to 15 years, against this disease.
A country in conflict
Diphtheria is an infectious disease, caused by the bacterium C. diphtheriae, which can lead to paralysis of the central nervous system or of the diaphragm and the throat, resulting in death by asphyxiation, recalls the Pasteur Institute. This disease is highly contagious and is transmitted through the air. It most often results in a pharyngitisof the feverswelling of the neck and headaches.
The terms of precarious life and unsanitary places are factors that aggravate the onset and transmission of the disease. However, Yemen has been in the grip of great tension for 3 years, considerably weakening the population, and only 50% of health establishments are partially or fully functioning, specifies the WHO. In order to deploy this large-scale mission in the areas considered most at risk, 6,000 health professionals have been mobilized.
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