Another diphtheria case reported

Boudry asylum centre (archive picture) © Keystone / Laurent Gillieron

A teenager has been diagnosed with a form of diphtheria at a centre for asylum seekers in canton Neuchâtel – the latest in a series of diphtheria cases in Switzerland this August.

Medical tests were undertaken on the adolescent in the Boudry asylum centre after he presented suspicious skin symptoms, the Neuchâtel cantonal authorities saidExternal link in a statement on Saturday. He is being treated in hospital, following the confirmation of skin diphtheria. His condition is stable, officials said.

As a preventive measure, the other asylum seekers and members of staff are to be given three days of antibiotic prophylaxis and a booster vaccination. There is no risk to the general population, the authorities stressed.

“In view of other cases in Switzerland, the centre’s staff were careful to diagnose such situations quickly and immediately informed the cantonal doctor,” the statement said.

Other cases

On August 3, the authorities reported eight cases of the more dangerous throat diphtheriaExternal link at an asylum centre in the Swiss capital Bern – the first known cases of this form of the bacterial infection in Switzerland in nearly 40 years. Yesterday another case of throat diphtheriaExternal link was reported at the Federal Asylum Centre in Kreuzlingen, around a week after two cases of the milder skin variant were detected.

Diphtheria of the throat rarely occurs in Western Europe, where children for decades have been vaccinated against the highly contagious bacterial infection.

However, diphtheria is still common in developing countries, according to experts.

The last known case of throat diphtheria in Switzerland was recorded in 1983, according to the Federal Office of Public Health.