Diphtheria killed a child in Italy. Unvaccinated, the young patient died of the disease. Vaccination coverage is insufficient in the country.
Europeans no longer trust vaccines. 12% of the population have doubts about their safety. The hesitations are starting to have a very concrete impact. The latest example is Italy. A case of diphtheria has been confirmed by the Higher Institute of Health, placed under the supervision of the Ministry of Health. It affects a child who was not vaccinated against this serious infectious disease. The young patient died.
A serious illness
Along with France, Italy is the last country in Europe where certain vaccinations are compulsory. Among them, diphtheria. The strategy ended up paying off in our transalpine neighbor, who had not known infection since 1991. But vaccination is also declining in the Italian population: 93% is protected against diphtheria. Insufficient to achieve collective protection, according to the criteria of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Health officials have refused to disclose the region of origin of the deceased patient. They just point out that it is a child. In fact, the youngest are the most exposed to complications from diphtheria. This infectious disease is characterized by an infection of the upper respiratory tract, after direct contact with an infected person. Symptoms then progress to paralysis of the central nervous system or diaphragm and throat. The patient then died of asphyxiation.
Polio threatens
The severity of the symptoms has pushed several countries, including France, to make vaccination against diphtheria compulsory. But mistrust is spreading in Europe. In the past, Belgium and Spain have each deplored one pediatric death. The two children were also not vaccinated.
Vaccine preparations do not only protect against diphtheria. They also contain strains that immunize against polio, another serious infection with serious consequences for children. The insufficient coverage worries the Italian authorities at the highest point. “We are expecting a new case of polio in Italy,” said Walter Riccardi, president of the Higher Institute of Health. Thousands of children are not vaccinated and the virus is found on the other side of the Adriatic, in Albania ”, he added within the framework of a pediatric congress held in Florence (Italy ).
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