A 19 year-old male inmate at the Pollsmoor Correctional Centre in Cape Town, has died, after he contracted diphtheria.
PHOTO: Science DirectHealth Minister, Dr. Joe Phaahla, confirmed the outbreak,
saying the man presented diphtheria symptoms on 28 October 2023 and was
referred to the local hospital for further medical care.
‘’Throat swabs were collected the same day for culture
laboratory testing and the results came back positive five days later (2 November).
Unfortunately, his health condition continued to deteriorate until he
regrettably passed away on the 5th November 2023,’’ said the minister in a
statement.
‘’The public health measures were undertaken to put the
outbreak under control, and these include contact tracing of inmates,
correctional services staff, consulting healthcare workers and emergency services
personnel,’’ added Dr. Joe Phaala, Health Minister.
Diphtheria is an uncommon, but vaccine preventable serious
infection caused by a toxin producing bacterium called Corynebacterium
diphtheria. The toxin may lead to difficulty in breathing, heart rhythm
problems, and even death. The bacteria spreads from person to person, usually
through respiratory droplets from coughing or sneezing. The symptoms of
diphtheria include sore throat (with the formation of a membrane on the tonsil
and throat), and swollen glands in the front of the neck. Close contacts of
known cases are at increased risk of infection.
The minister said more tests were conducted with 55 close
contacts identified, and of these 8 inmates tested positive for diphtheria - two
of them presenting with mild symptoms and the other six are asymptomatic.
‘’All patients including the deceased fall within the age
group of 18 to 23 years old. Immediate contacts of the patients and the
deceased have been put in isolation from the rest of the correctional centre
section to prevent further spread of the disease. Two staff members displayed
symptoms compatible with diphtheria and have received treatment whilst waiting
for their laboratory test results,’’ said Dr. Phaala.
The Western Cape Department of Health Disease Outbreak Team
working together with the Department of Correctional Services, have embarked on
a vaccination campaign in the affected section of the correctional centre.
Two laboratory-confirmed cases of diphtheria disease were
recorded earlier in the year from an adult in KwaZulu-Natal and a child in the
Western Cape.
Done By: Mitchum George
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