City of Cape Town takes action against Diphtheria bacterial disease

City of Cape Town says it is taking action in areas where the Diphtheria bacterial disease has been confirmed. A public health response was initiated last month. Health authorities say a 34-year old woman has died in the province.

Diphtheria is a contagious and potentially life-threatening bacterial infection. It spreads from person to person through contact with respiratory droplets or hand-to mouth contact with secretions from an infected person’s mouth, nose, throat or skin.

The City’s Mayco Member for Community Services and Health, Patricia Van Der Ross, “In the Western Cape there has been 16 confirmed cases of Diphtheria of which 94% of those cases sits within the City of Cape Town. Majority of that 94% is between the age group of five and nine years old. We also picked up eight cases of 20-year-old plus. What we need to understand is we saw the same thing last year a spike in Diphtheria and we are busy doing Diphtheria vaccinations and we also as the City of Cape Town are doing mobile interventions in our respective communities.”