US EditionEurope suffers its largest diphtheria outbreak in 70 years
- Beginning in 2022, the most significant outbreak of diphtheria in seven decades occurred across Western Europe, mainly impacting migrant communities in multiple countries.
- The epidemic resulted mainly from contamination during migratory routes and within destination countries, with no evidence linking it to migrants' countries of origin.
- In 2023, the outbreak affected additional high-risk populations, with 362 cases documented across Europe that year. Since 2022, a total of 536 infections and at least three fatalities have been reported in countries such as Austria, France, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
- About 98% of cases were male migrants with a median age of 18; public health experts urge increased vigilance, vaccination updates, and raising symptom awareness among clinicians.
- The findings emphasize the need for enhanced cross-border surveillance, improved migrant healthcare access, and sustained vigilance against antibiotic resistance in managing the epidemic.
25 Articles
25 Articles
The long-forgotten disease is back: Africa records the most severe diphtheria outbreak in history. In Germany, too, infections have increased to low NIveau.
This highly contagious bacterial infection can attack the respiratory tract or the skin, with sometimes fatal forms. A study by the Institut Pasteur et Santé publique France reveals that migrants and homeless people are particularly affected.
Recent diphtheria epidemic in Western Europe traced to migration routes, not countries of origin
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine reveals that the largest diphtheria epidemic in Western Europe for 70 years, which broke out in 2022 among migrants and in 2023 spread to other vulnerable populations in several European countries, is the result of contaminations occurring during migratory travel or in destination European countries, and not in the countries of origin.
Europe Faces Unprecedented Outbreak of Diphtheria, the Likes of Which Have Not Been Seen in 70 Years
Europe is facing an exceptional resurgence of diphtheria, an infectious disease that has been rare on the continent for several decades. This epidemic, unprecedented in 70 years, is worrying health authorities and raising many questions.
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