Diphtheria maintains grip in former Soviet Union:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
In 1995 there were more than 50,000 cases of diphtheria and 1,500 people died from the disease in the former Soviet Union. Details emerged during a conference organised by the World Health Organisation in Berlin this month. The event was set up to review progress of a programme to improve prevention of diphtheria in eastern Europe. The drive has focused on early diagnosis, swift treatment and an immunisation campaign. A clear decline in the disease was recorded in the Baltic states, Moldavia and Azerbaijan, while numbers rose in the Ukraine and central Asia.