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Diphtheria claims 9 lives in South Africa: health officials issue vaccination alert before Easter holidays

The rise in diphtheria cases across South Africa has renewed concerns about this deadly yet preventable disease.With nine confirmed fatalities reported this year alone, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) is urging parents and guardians to urgently review their children’s vaccination records ahead of the approaching school holidays and the long Easter weekend, a time when families commonly travel and engage in activities together.Diphtheria is a contagious, severe, vaccine-preventable illness, usually associated with a sore throat, fever, and large swollen glands in the neck. This is sometimes called a “bull neck”, and on examining a patient, the doctor will see a characteristic adherent membrane over the tonsils and the throat. This is sometimes called a “pseudomembrane”.NICD spokesperson Vuyo Sabani said that since mid-June 2024 to March 23, 2025, 40 cases of diphtheria caused by a bacteria called toxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae have been confirmed in the co…