Rapid Risk Assessment: Cutaneous Diphtheria Among Recently Arrived Refugees and Asylum Seekers in the EU (European Union)

European Union, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. 07/30/2015This eight-page assessment provides information about the potential risks to public health in the European Union (EU) associated with the recent detection of cases of cutaneous diphtheria among refugees and asylum seekers, the shortage of diphtheria antitoxin (DAT) in the EU, and the recent death of an unvaccinated child from respiratory diphtheria caused by toxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae in Spain. Notification through the health system is unlikely to be a sensitive mechanism for detecting outbreaks of cutaneous diphtheria among refugees as they may have more limited access to health services than other population groups. (PDF)

Source: Disaster Lit: Resource Guide for Disaster Medicine and Public Health - January 24, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Authors: The U.S. National Library of Medicine Source Type: news