Vaccination protects – 40 percent of Austrians without diphtheria protection

Date:

In the recent past, diphtheria, an “ancient” disease that was believed to have been largely suppressed, has made a return. Last year there was even one death. “According to a scientific study by us, about 40 percent of Austrians are ‘seronegative’. This means they have no effective protection against antibodies,” warned Viennese expert Ursula Wiedermann-Schmidt.

In Austria, since the end of World War II and with the introduction of effective vaccination, diphtheria cases have fallen from about 16,000 in 1946 to extremely low numbers since the late 1960s. Since then, the curve has been along the zero line.

Diseases increased again
But that has changed a lot lately. The head of the Center for Pathophysiology, Infectious Diseases and Immunology at MedUni Vienna and the reference center for seroprevalence of diphtheria: “This disease, which is notifiable in Austria and the EU, has again increased significantly. From early 2022 to January 10, 2023, there were 331 cases of diphtheria in Europe. In Germany, 116 diseases were registered, in Austria there were 63.” In principle, the rule of thumb for the relationship between Germany and Austria of ten to one should also apply.

After all, 16 of the diphtheria diseases that have become known in Austria are due to respiratory infections. One person was also killed among those affected. Because the disease has been scarce for decades, doctors are only mildly sensitized to potentially suspicious symptoms. Diphtheria can be cured with antitoxin administration and rapid antibiotic therapy. In the worst case, however, suspicion must be aroused and prompt action must be taken.

Refugees often affected
In this context, the Viennese expert referred to questionable facts that also affect the Austrians: “The cases of illness were mainly among male refugees, for example from Syria, Afghanistan or Yemen, who came to Austria via the so-called Balkan route. They were unable to receive a diphtheria vaccine due to the situation in their home country. In Austria, they are offered immunization as part of medical care.” Essentially, however, it turned out that people in Austria were not sufficiently vaccinated against the potentially life-threatening disease. This could enable transmission.

Ursula Wiedermann-Schmidt: “We examined the antibody titers in more than 15,000 blood samples in Austria between 2011 and 2022. On average, about 40 percent of people were seronegative. This applies to all age groups.” The accompanying statistics show no significant differences between the young people under the age of 15, the 15 to 64 year olds and the over 65s.

Consider a booster vaccination!
The problem seems to be with booster vaccinations from childhood. The expert: “The babies and toddlers are protected for a high percentage with the six-fold vaccination of the free children’s vaccination program. Also, 85 to 88 percent of children here receive protection against diphtheria. But then there is a refresher course every ten years, in any case with the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine (or quadruple vaccine for polio; note) until age 60, then every five to six years.Closing vaccine gaps is currently complicated by the fact that there are currently no monovalent vaccines that protect against diphtheria or whooping cough.

“Just a few years ago, we had to warn Austria against whooping cough, especially in adults, because of a lack of vaccine protection. Now diphtheria was added,” said the Viennese expert.

Source: Krone

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Share post:

Subscribe

Popular

More like this
Related

Can lift 1000 tons – US: Giant crane clears after bridge collapse

After the bridge collapsed in the port of the...

15-year-old victim – attack with knife over a Gucci cap

A 15-year-old boy was threatened with a knife by...