There is a life-threatening situation for an Afghan (25) who has disappeared since Monday afternoon from the federal asylum center Thalham in St. Georgen/Attergau in Upper Austria. He is infected with the contagious diphtheria pathogen. The bacteria infect the skin or respiratory tract and – if the disease is not treated – can secrete a toxin that can be fatal in the worst case.
There have already been two cases of diphtheria in Vienna this year, with one Afghan man dying. However, infected people may remain asymptomatic but be contagious. The Afghan who disappeared from Thalham probably doesn’t even know he’s infected. The 25-year-old was examined on June 30 in Klagenfurt (Carinthia) because he had a wound to his leg. The next day he came to Upper Austria, where he did not want to be re-examined. When Monday was diagnosed with diphtheria from Carinthia, the asylum seeker had disappeared – he had gone out and not returned.
Disease was considered eradicated
Police are now looking for him, his close contacts are being vaccinated against diphtheria and are believed to be monitoring their health – diphtheria has an incubation period of two to six days and is a notifiable disease in Austria. We thought the disease was eradicated by the end of 2014; there had been no case for 20 years. The vaccination rate against the pathogen has fallen and is said to be above 85 percent among young people.
A year ago there was a health alert in Thalham as 39 asylum seekers from the corona quarantine had piled up around the facility. On Monday, after the diphtheria case became known, the FPÖ reacted as expected: “Scandal over health and safety policy,” murmured state party secretary Michael Gruber.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
