Chitchat Keling Kia Dead From Diphtheria! Time To Make Diphtheria Great Again After 2

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An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:

SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Health (MOH) is screening people who came into close contact with a Bangladeshi construction worker who died on Friday (Aug 4) from diphtheria.

The 21-year-old worker was likely to have been infected in Singapore as he had not traveled out of the country recently, said MOH in a news release on Saturday.

This is believed to be the first such case in 25 years. MOH said the last local case of infection was reported in 1992.

The Bangladeshi worker had developed symptoms such as fever and swelling of the neck on Jul 30. He sought medical treatment at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital on Aug 1 and was immediately isolated and hospitalised, said the ministry. He died three days later.

Diphtheria is a bacterial infection that can be transmitted from one person to another through close contact, through air droplets from coughing or sneezing. It may lead to breathing difficulties and can cause death in five to 10 per cent of cases.

Symptoms include fever, sore throat, swelling of the neck and nasal discharge.


The risk of diphtheria spreading in Singapore is low, said MOH, as it is compulsory for all children here to be vaccinated against the bacteria.

The worker who died from diphtheria lived at Yishun Avenue 7 and worked at Teban Gardens, said the Health Ministry.

It is screening those who came into close contact with him, including those who lived in the same dormitory. So far, 48 people have been identified for further assessment, said MOH, of which two developed a sore throat since Aug 3.
"All 48 contacts have been given preventive medication and a booster diphtheria vaccine, and their respiratory samples have been taken for testing," said the ministry.

Read more at http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/...ase-of-9095846


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