Health Alerts

Updated PAHO information disclosed the pandemic’s detrimental effects on diphtheria vaccination rates, which were already low for Haiti’s men and young children. For the year to mid-June, the country has reported 12 cases from 111 suspected infections, three of them fatal. The PAHO report notes that immunisation rates for the four doses of diphtheria-containing vaccines given to infants before their second birthday is under 50 percent. In the neighbouring Dominican Republic, there have been 35 suspected diphtheria cases and 10 deaths this year. Read more.