WHO says diphtheria infected over 1,300 people in Yemen

CAIRO – The World Health Organization says a diphtheria outbreak in war-torn Yemen has spread rapidly nationwide and infected more than 1,300 people.

WHO said in a statement that children and young adults account for almost 80 per cent of cases and more than 70 people have died.

Diphtheria, first reported in Yemen in October last year, is a contagious and potentially fatal disease that primarily infects the throat and airways.

WHO said Friday a vaccination campaign targeting 2.7 million Yemeni children has been completed in 11 governorates.

Yemen has been engulfed in a civil war pitting a Saudi-led coalition backing an internationally recognized government against Iran-backed Shiite rebels since March 2015.

The near three-year stalemated war has damaged Yemen’s infrastructure, crippled the health system and pushed it to the brink of famine.