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A nurse prepares a vaccine dosage.
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has expressed concern about the increasing number of respiratory diphtheria cases in the country.
40 cases of diphtheria have been confirmed including nine fatalities.
This contagious and serious illness can be prevented through vaccination.
Symptoms typically include a sore throat, fever, and swollen glands in the neck.
The NICD is urging the public, especially parents, to check and update their children’s vaccination status to help combat this dangerous and preventable disease.
Dr. Jocelyn Moyes, a medical epidemiologist at NICD, has advised anyone experiencing these symptoms to seek medical assistance immediately.
“So if anybody experiences these symptoms it’s really important to seek care early. The reason for that is it is treatable and often if people present late the effective treatment, the anti-toxin medication that we have and the anti-biotics don’t work as well. So please if you are not well, you have this kind of symptoms of a sore throat and large glands in your neck please see someone as soon as possible,” says Moyes.
MEDIA STATEMENT | Increase in Cases of Respiratory Diphtheria in South Africa in 2024 and 2025
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases advises the public to review their children’s vaccination status due to an increase in diphtheria cases. pic.twitter.com/p9SlWkUMhs
— NICD (@nicd_sa) March 27, 2025
