Bangla­desh author­ities said they had prepar­ed for outbre­aks of other diseas­es in the camps, but not diphth­eriaDHAKA: Bangladesh Tuesday launched a massive drive to vaccinate Rohingya children against diphtheria after a suspected outbreak killed nine refugees and infected more than 700. Health workers in Bangladesh said they had been caught unawares by the outbreak of the bacterial disease in the Rohingya refugee camps of southeast BangladeshMore than 646,000 Rohingya are based in these camps, having fled violence in Myanmar in recent months. Rohingya refugee crisis a ‘grave security risk’, warns ICGAuthorities have set up two isolation units in the overcrowded refugee camps, where many lack adequate shelter and food and there is little access to medical services. Bangladesh authorities said they had prepared for outbreaks of other diseases in the camps, but not diphtheria, which had been all but eradicated in Bangladesh. “We are moving quickly to control this diphtheria outbreak before it spins out of control,” said Dr Navaratnasamy Paranietharan, the World Health Organization representative to Bangladesh.

Source: The Express Tribune December 12, 2017 13:30 UTC