46 people died of diphtheria in Yemen

YemenExtra

SH.A.

46 people have died in the past months of diphtheria in Yemen, in latest reports of TASS news agency.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that at least 471 people in impoverished Yemen have contracted diphtheria, a bacterial disease that has been killing one in 10 Yemenis since the outbreak started.

The west-central province of Ibb and the western province of Hudaydah were the hardest hit by diphtheria, which easily spreads between people through direct physical contact or the air.

“The overall case fatality ratio is 10 percent,” said U.N. agency’s spokesman, Tarik Jasarevic, noting that 46 deaths had been recorded since last Tuesday.