According to WHO, diphtheria is “rapidly spreading among Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar.” On 6 December, WHO warned that more than 110 suspected cases, including 6 deaths, have been clinically diagnosed by health partners, including Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC). Diphtheria is a highly infectious respiratory disease that spreads through droplet and can be deadly, particularly in overcrowded areas with no proper sanitation system. WHO is working with the Bangladesh Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), UNICEF, and partners to contain the spread of the highly infectious respiratory disease through effective treatment and adequate prevention. For its part, UNHCR immediately made part of the Rubber Plantation Transit Centre available to serve as a treatment and isolation facility for patients under MSF management. Sixty-eight patients were transferred on 9 December 2017. The outbreak has impacted the upcoming relocation of some 10,000 refugees currently in border areas in Bandarban district; their relocation will be delayed to allow for the vaccination of children.

According to WHO, diphtheria is “rapidly spreading among Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar.” On 6 December, WHO warned that more than 110 suspected cases, including 6 deaths, have been clinically diagnosed by health partners, including Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC). Diphtheria is a highly infectious respiratory disease that spreads through droplet and can be deadly, particularly in overcrowded areas with no proper sanitation system. WHO is working with the Bangladesh Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), UNICEF, and partners to contain the spread of the highly infectious respiratory disease through effective treatment and adequate prevention. For its part, UNHCR immediately made part of the Rubber Plantation Transit Centre available to serve as a treatment and isolation facility for patients under MSF management. Sixty-eight patients were transferred on 9 December 2017. The outbreak has impacted the upcoming relocation of some 10,000 refugees currently in border areas in Bandarban district; their relocation will be delayed to allow for the vaccination of children.