Must be ventilated

Unvaccinated: schoolchild falls ill with diphtheria

Until a vaccine was discovered, tens of thousands of children died from diphtheria (symbolic image).

(Bild: APA/dpa/Nicolas Armer (Symbolbild))

Thanks to the highly effective vaccination, diphtheria was thought to be almost eradicated in our part of the world. However, isolated cases are now appearing again - a ten-year-old boy and another person in Germany have recently contracted the highly infectious disease. He now has to be ventilated invasively (i.e. with a tube) in a clinic.

The district of Brandenburg confirmed the two cases to "rbb24" - these are a ten-year-old boy from Havelland and another person from the pupil's immediate environment.

The doctors' explosive suspicions were confirmed
While the second case should fortunately be mild - the person concerned has since had the vaccination - the boy is much worse off. The unvaccinated child was initially treated in a hospital in Brandenburg for an acute inflammation of the tonsils, but at the end of September the doctors' suspicions were confirmed: the illness was actually respiratory diphtheria.

Due to his state of health, the boy finally had to be transferred to a clinic in Berlin, where he now has to be ventilated - as reported by "Bild", he is currently in the Charité hospital, but the doctors there referred to medical confidentiality.

Classmates excused from lessons
Apart from the two infections, there are no other suspected cases in the area, but as a precaution, classmates at a Waldorf school have been excused from lessons. Parents are now required to have their children examined. According to the principal, the responsible health authority explained that there is no risk of infection as the majority of pupils have been vaccinated.

Diphtheria is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Corynebacterium diphtheriae, which mainly affects the upper respiratory tract and sometimes the skin. It leads to severe sore throat, fever and can cause life-threatening complications such as respiratory distress, heart and nerve damage, which is why it is also known as the "choking angel of children".

Vaccinated people can also be carriers
The fact that there have recently been isolated cases of infection in Europe is due to falling vaccination rates. Vaccination against diphtheria is very effective and is part of the standard vaccinations that are administered in many countries as early as childhood.

However, it does not prevent infection with the pathogen itself: despite vaccination, people with existing immunity can still be carriers and transmitters of the disease.