South Africa has recorded another death in a lab-confirmed diphtheria case, according to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases’ latest surveillance update, which says the Western Cape remains the centre of the recent outbreak.
SA Health News reports that the week 40 update, based on data collected until 4 October, says no new confirmed toxigenic diphtheria cases had been added since the previous report, but that one additional death was recorded.
The national case count therefore remains at 43 confirmed respiratory diphtheria cases, alongside 10 asymptomatic carriers of toxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae identified through surveillance and contact tracing.
The preceding NICD report showed that 35 of the 43 confirmed cases were in the Western Cape, with Limpopo accounting for five confirmed cases and Gauteng three.
Four laboratory-confirmed cases had been added in the preceding reporting period: two from the Western Cape, one from Gauteng and one from Limpopo.
The fact that week 40 added no new confirmed cases is encouraging, but the additional death shows why surveillance and rapid clinical treatment remain important even when case growth slows, noted the NICD.
A flat case curve is not the same as an ended outbreak. Deaths can lag diagnosis and hospital course. Carriers identified through contact tracing also show that the organism can still be found even when new clinical case counts pause.
Vaccination remains the main preventive tool and the NICD advised clinicians to keep diphtheria on the differential for severe pharyngitis with membrane, especially in incompletely vaccinated patients or contacts of confirmed cases. Early recognition matters because treatment and public-health measures start before every laboratory detail is settled.
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Western Cape diphtheria cases on the rise
Waning immunity, low jab rate, trigger SA diphtheria cases