Diphtheria in Germany – Danish doctors are encouraged to pay attention

« Based on the current situation in Germany and the close geographical connection to Denmark, doctors are urged to pay extra attention, » writes the State Serum Institute (SSI) in a press release.

The reason is that German authorities reported on a possible outbreak of diphtheria in the country, and so far this year five cases have been found.

Diphtheria is caused by bacteria, which either affect the airways or skin. Skin diphors rarely lead to serious injuries, while respiratory tracting, which is also called genuine Krupp, has a mortality of between five and ten percent.

« In severe cases, it can lead to being suffocated to death, » says Tina Crafoord, chief physician and head of the unit for the vaccination programs at the Public Health Authority.

In Sweden died Thousands of children annually as a result of diphtheria in the early 1900s. Today, vaccines for diphtheria are included in the child vaccination program, and the disease is virtually extinct in both Sweden and Denmark.

– Denmark has only had a documented case of airway watering since 2020. The spread of infection in Germany has been going on for three years now, which is perhaps why you want to inform about it now, says Tina Crafoord.

Since 2022, more than a hundred cases of diphtheria have been discovered in Germany: 55 cases 2022, 49 cases 2023 and 18 cases 2024. Three people have died in the disease: an unvaccinated child and two older persons with uncertain vaccination status.

Mortality is higher, and the vulnerability greater for unvaccinated children and the elderly.

– Diphtheria infects through close contact. If you live very close to each other, crowded and under sanitary inconvenience, there is a much greater risk of spreading, says Tina Crafoord.

In Germany will The first cases have been discovered in unvaccinated migrants and later the disease has been discovered in, for example, homeless, writes SSI.

– We will of course follow developments in Europe, we are constantly doing that. Right now we don’t have to make any extra effort.

It is estimated that 90 percent of the population is protected against diphtheria. The risk of a Swedish outbreak is thus very small, says Crafoord.

But she emphasizes that the vaccine should be replenished every twenty years. If you are going abroad – no matter where you are going – you should think about whether you have enough protection against, for example, measles and diphtheria, she says.

– One should always be aware that diphtheria is a serious illness found around the world.

Read more here:

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