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Diphtheria case reported at Swiss asylum centre

Diphtheria outbreak at the federal asylum centre in Embrach ZH
Diphtheria outbreak at the federal asylum centre in Embrach ZH Keystone-SDA

There has been an outbreak of the infectious disease diphtheria at the federal asylum centre in Embrach, canton Zurich. One person is in hospital.

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All contact people of the infected resident are now receiving antibiotic prophylaxis. Unvaccinated residents and staff are also being offered the vaccination, the Zurich Health Directorate said on Monday in response to an enquiry from the Swiss News Agency Keystone-SDA.

Diphtheria is an infectious disease caused by bacteria and is considered virtually eradicated in Switzerland. However, several asylum centres reported outbreaks of diphtheria as early as 2022.

+ Cases of diphtheria reported in Switzerland

Translated from German by DeepL/ts

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SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR