Diphtheria Cases Rise in South Africa: What You Need to Know
Urgent Diphtheria Alert: 40 Cases Detected in South Africa—Clinicians Advised to Stay Vigilant & Test Suspected Cases!
All clinicians throughout the country are urged to have a high index of suspicion for respiratory diphtheria in patients presenting with sore throat, low grade fever, malaise and an adherent membrane, and/or marked cervical lymphadenopathy (bull neck) and to notify suspected cases and collect oropharyngeal specimens for diagnostic laboratory testing.
Between 1 January 2024 and 15 January 2025, toxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae (C. diphtheriae) was detected in 40 individuals nationally. Of these, 20 individuals had respiratory diphtheria and 20 were asymptomatic carriers detected during contact tracing. The median age of those with respiratory diphtheria was 22 years with a range of 4-41 years (70%, 14/20 aged >18 years) and 5 of 20 (25%) individuals died. The majority (37/40, 92%) of individuals were from the Western Cape (18 with respiratory diphtheria and 19 asymptomatic carriers).
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