2023-04-17 13:02:36
Diphtheria, a very contagious and sometimes fatal disease, had disappeared in France since 1945 thanks to massive vaccination. However, it made its big comeback in Europe in 2022, as reported Le Figaro et The Parisian. A communication unveiled at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases on Saturday April 15 reports for 2022 30 cases of diphtheria in France, 118 in Germany, 69 in Austria, or 52 in Switzerland. An exceptional situation, but under control, according to experts.
According to Doctor Sylvain Brisse, director of the national reference center for diphtheria at the Institut Pasteur, we cannot speak of an epidemic, since there has been no contamination of the general population. “These are imported cases, observed in migrants, mainly from Afghanistan and Syria,” he explained according to The Parisian.
Vaccination coverage issues
For the time being, scientists do not know how these people contracted diphtheria, this bacterial disease which is generally transmitted from man to man through saliva and skin wounds. Most of the infected were young men in their twenties, according to the Ile-de-France daily. They did not have the respiratory form of the disease, which is sometimes fatal, but the cutaneous form, which is less serious. According to doctor Sylvain Brisse, these contaminations are “probably linked to a lack of hygiene and promiscuity” on the migratory routes.
Beyond hygiene issues, for Le Figaro, these cases of diphtheria would also be linked to poor vaccination coverage in Syria or Afghanistan due to the conflicts. But several of the patients who arrived in France were vaccinated, which allowed them to be protected from serious forms of the disease.
new strains
In total, the genomic study carried out by Doctor Sylvain Brisse revealed four different strains, some of which were resistant to an antibiotic, erythromycin. Strains that have only been circulating for one or two years, according to the researcher.
As a result, the scientist would like caregivers to be more aware of this disease and for “better screening” on the arrival of migrants to be put in place. After the rise at the end of 2022, no cases have been spotted since.
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