Nghe An identified 119 cases of contact with a patient who died of diphtheria in Ky Son district.
119 people who had contact with the deceased patient resided in the two districts of Ky Son and Tuong Duong. Among them, 1 case tested positive for diphtheria.
Information from Nghe An Provincial Center for Disease Control: At 4:00 p.m. on July 4, Nghe An Provincial Center for Disease Control received information from the Tropical Disease Center of Nghe An General Hospital about a suspected case of diphtheria. The Center sent a monitoring team to investigate and collect samples for testing.
The female patient is PTC, (18 years old), residing in Pha Khao village, Pha Danh commune, Ky Son district. The patient is a student of Ky Son district Vocational Education - Continuing Education Center, just completed the 2024 high school graduation exam.
Epidemiological information revealed: On June 26, patient PTC showed symptoms of fever, cough, sore throat, and hoarseness. The patient self-medicated and still participated in the 2024 high school entrance exam at Ky Son High School on June 27-28.
After the exam, patient PTC returned home but the illness did not improve, so on July 1, he went to Ky Son District Medical Center for examination and was hospitalized in the Infectious Diseases Department with the diagnosis: Ulcerative pharyngitis - Purulent tonsils, diphtheria prognosis. Ky Son District Medical Center conducted an interdisciplinary consultation and instructed the family to transfer to a higher level for treatment, but the family did not meet the conditions and requested to be treated at the department.
By July 4, the patient's condition had not improved, so he was persuaded to transfer to Nghe An General Hospital for further treatment. The patient was admitted to Nghe An General Hospital at 2:44 p.m. on July 4 with the diagnosis of septic shock/diphtheria, complications of myocarditis, multiple organ failure, blood clotting disorder, and thrombocytopenia. The patient's family asked him to go home at 11:50 p.m. on July 4 and he died on the way home at 4:00 a.m. on July 5.
During the investigation, the Nghe An Provincial Center for Disease Control identified 7 cases that had close contact with the PTC patient in the dormitory room of the Ky Son District Vocational Education and Continuing Education Center. Including: MTK (Pha Khom village, Pha Danh commune); XTL (Quyet Thang village, Keng Du commune); MTS (Pha Khao village, Pha Danh commune); LTN (Pieng Hom village, Pha Danh commune); MTT (Pieng Hom village, Pha Danh commune); MTD (Luu Thang village, Chieu Luu commune); MTB (Pha Khao village, Pha Danh commune).
In the cases of close contact with PTC patient in the dormitory, there were 2 people, MTS and MTB, who moved from Ky Son district to temporarily reside in Bac Giang province. MTB had a sore throat and was instructed to report to the health station on July 4. To date, MTB has been tested with positive results for diphtheria.
Expanding the investigation of contact cases, the Provincial Center for Disease Control has identified 119 people who had contact with the patient from the onset to death.
Cases in contact with the patient are distributed in Ky Son district including: Bac Ly commune (3 people), Bao Nam commune (4 people), Dooc May commune (3 people), Huoi Tu commune (7 people), Huu Kiem commune (4 people), Keng Du commune (23 people), Muong Ai commune (1 person), Muong Long commune (3 people), Muong Tip commune (6 people), My Ly commune (5 people), Na Loi commune (6 people), Na Ngoi commune (9 people), Nam Can commune (5 people), Nam Can commune (3 people), Pha Danh commune (15 people), Ta Ca commune (3 people), Tay Son commune (14 people), Chieu Luu commune (2 people), Huu Lap commune (1 person)... In Tuong Duong district, there are 2 people, including: Mai Son commune (1 person), Luong Minh commune (1 person).
It is known that in recent years, there have been cases of diphtheria in Ky Son district (in 2017, 1 case was recorded in Muong Tip commune; in 2021, 5 cases were recorded in Huu Lap commune; in 2022, 2 cases were recorded in Na Loi commune).
At this time, the Nghe An Health sector and related localities are actively implementing epidemic prevention and control measures: Investigation, monitoring, sample collection, disinfection, isolation, administration of prophylactic antibiotics and vaccination, on-site treatment instructions, communication...
Diphtheria is an acute infectious and toxic disease caused by diphtheria bacteria. The disease is common in children, however, it can also occur in adults if they are not immune. The disease is easily transmitted through the respiratory tract or through direct contact with secretions from the nasal and throat mucosa of patients or healthy people carrying the virus when coughing or sneezing; especially in crowded residential areas or places with poor hygiene conditions.
Symptoms can range from mild to severe, and severe cases can cause complications and death. Previously, the disease was quite common in most localities across the country; since diphtheria vaccine was introduced into the expanded immunization program, the disease has been controlled and only a few sporadic cases have been recorded due to lack of vaccination, often occurring in remote areas with low vaccination rates.
