Don't worry too much about the risk of diphtheria infection.

On July 14, in the face of the diphtheria epidemic appearing in some localities and showing signs of complicated developments, Dr. Nguyen Trung Cap, Deputy Director of the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases, said that diphtheria is especially dangerous for those who have not been fully vaccinated or whose vaccines have lost their effectiveness. The mortality rate of diphtheria is 10%-20%, much higher than that of Covid-19, but the risk of infection is much lower because this is a sporadic disease with not many cases, so people should not be too panicked or worried.

The Deputy Director of the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases said that diphtheria has the same initial symptoms as: sore throat, sore throat, mild cough, difficulty swallowing, painful swallowing. Most patients gradually recover, but a certain percentage of patients develop severe disease, becoming malignant diphtheria. To prevent diphtheria, it is necessary to get enough doses of diphtheria vaccine on schedule.

“It should be noted that the protective effect of the diphtheria vaccine is at least 10 years. After 10 years, some people whose effectiveness has decreased may be infected and need to be re-vaccinated. Although the vaccine has been included in the expanded immunization program, there is a certain percentage who have not received all 5 doses and are still susceptible to the disease when exposed to diphtheria bacteria,” Dr. Nguyen Trung Cap emphasized and recommended that if people come into contact with someone with diphtheria, they should go to the hospital immediately for isolation, monitoring, and taking preventive antibiotics to greatly reduce the risk of serious complications.

MINH KHANG

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/khong-nen-qua-lo-lang-ve-nguy-co-lay-nhiem-bach-hau-post749328.html