Diphtheria reported in Spain

A six-year-old boy has become the first recorded case of diphtheria in Spain for 29 years. Eight children who came in contact with the boy have tested positive for the causative bacteria but have not become ill. These children, all of whom had been vaccinated, have been placed in isolation and are being treated with antibiotics to prevent the disease from developing. [Eight more children infected with diphtheria. The Local Spain, June 8, 2015] The six-year-old was hospitalized in serious condition but appears to be responding well to treatment with diphtheria antitoxin obtained from Russia after an urgent international appeal. His parents have said they feel "cheated" by the anti-vaccination movement. Antoni Mateu, Catalonia's regional secretary for public health, has pledged to pursue offending anti-vaccination platforms that "spread lies and cause confusion." [Parents of diphtheria boy 'feel terrible guilt.' The Local Spain, June 5, 2015] Diphtheria had been considered eradicated in Spain, thanks to routine vaccination programs, with the last case having been reported in 1986.
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Uh-huh, and that's why we vaccinate--last time it was measles in California, now it's diphtheria in Spain; there'd been whooping cough outbreaks before...we'll see polio next, I'll warrant...if not something worse.

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