Health teams are tracing contacts and searching for further cases after two family clusters of diphtheria were detected in Souss-Massa, where two brothers have died.
The Health and Social Protection Ministry confirmed on Monday that the clusters had been identified in Agadir Ida-Outanane prefecture and Chtouka Aït Baha province.
One case has so far been confirmed by laboratory testing. Eight others remain under investigation and are awaiting biological confirmation, the ministry said. The two deaths are among those eight cases.
Earlier information obtained by Le360 identified the victims as two brothers, aged 11 and 17, from the commune of Aït Amira in Chtouka Aït Baha.
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Five members of the same family had been admitted to Mohammed VI University Hospital in Agadir, along with a sixth person who had been in contact with them, according to sources contacted by Le360. Four patients were receiving treatment after the deaths of the two boys.
Monday’s ministry statement showed that the cases under investigation extend beyond the Aït Amira family, with a second family cluster detected in Agadir Ida-Outanane.
The epidemiological response protocol was activated as soon as the cases were detected, according to the ministry.
Rapid-response teams from the Souss-Massa Territorial Health Group have begun an epidemiological investigation and an active search for further cases.
People who came into contact with the patients have been identified and placed under monitoring. They are being given preventive antibiotics and vaccinated in line with health protocols.
Hospital precautions have also been tightened. Sources at Mohammed VI University Hospital earlier told Le360 that healthcare workers had been vaccinated to limit the risk of transmission among staff and patients.
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Diphtheria spreads mainly through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Symptoms generally appear two to five days after infection and can include a sore throat, moderate fever, difficulty swallowing and swelling of the neck.
Severe disease can produce thick grey membranes in the throat that may obstruct breathing. Toxin-producing strains can also damage the heart, nerves and kidneys.
The World Health Organization puts the case fatality rate at between 5pc and 10pc, with the risk higher among young children.
The ministry said the Souss-Massa cases come amid a reappearance of diphtheria in several countries in recent years, which it linked to declining vaccination coverage and misinformation about vaccines.
Morocco includes the diphtheria vaccine in its National Immunization Programme.
Parents and guardians have been asked to check their children’s vaccination records, make up any missed doses and keep to the national vaccination schedule.
Anyone showing symptoms consistent with diphtheria should seek medical attention without delay and avoid close contact with others until they have been assessed, the ministry said.
