Rare case of diphtheria registered in Czechia

A woman from Vysočina had been diagnosed with a rare form of diphtheria. The source of the infection was probably a family pet, the State Health Institute said in a press release on Thursday. Diphtheria was last registered in the Czech Republic in 1995 and vaccination against the disease has been compulsory in the country since 1946. The institute has moved to allay fears of a possible spread of the disease, saying that the patient’s immunity had been severely undermined by immunosuppressant drugs.