EXPERTS WARN TO VACCINATE CHILDREN AGAINST DIPHTHERIA AS FIRST CASE IN NSW THIS CENTURY IS IDENTIFIED

Those who have come in close contact with the first diagnosed case of diphtheria in New South Wales this century have received antibiotics and a vaccine, in an effort to reduce the risk of transmission of the disease.

The North Coast Health Unit late yesterday afternoon announced an unvaccinated two-year-old girl was being treated for diphtheria of the throat.

The child is in ICU at a Queensland hospital, receiving diphtheria antitoxin, antibiotics, and respiratory support.