In early September, Qurraisha Mukhtar watched in horror as her two youngest children, Salman (1) and Hassan (2), succumbed to a mysterious illness. A fever, persistent cough, and desperate gasping for breath quickly escalated, their throats turning a ghastly white and necks swelling ominously. Despite seeking a local healer’s aid, Salman’s breathing failed him one night, and he passed away. Heartbreakingly, Hassan followed suit the very next day, choking in a similar struggle.
Living in a fragile stick-and-tin shack on the outskirts of Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, Ms. Mukhtar had no time for grief. Two more of her children began exhibiting the same terrifying symptoms. Desperate, she and her husband rallied support from friends and relatives, pooling their meager resources to rush the sick children to a hospital in a cramped three-wheeled taxi.
Upon arrival at Demartino Hospital, located in the city’s heart, Ms. Mukhtar was guided to a facility originally built during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, this very building has been urgently repurposed to combat a far older, yet equally horrific adversary: diphtheria. This vaccine-preventable disease is now ravaging thousands of children, and even some adults, across the region.
Diphtheria is triggered by a tenacious bacterium that unleashes a potent toxin, mercilessly destroying cells, most commonly in the throat and tonsils. This destruction forms a grotesque, thick gray membrane of dead tissue that can swell to obstruct the airway, leading to agonizing suffocation. Its threat is especially dire for young children due to their naturally smaller airways. While early detection allows for effective antibiotic treatment, delayed intervention can rapidly turn a case lethal.
This horrifying disease, once relegated to the history books thanks to widespread vaccination, has shockingly reappeared in recent years. Its resurgence is deeply intertwined with massive population displacements caused by climate change and persistent warfare. Compounding the crisis are the widespread disruptions to routine immunization programs during the COVID-19 pandemic, alongside a concerning global rise in vaccine skepticism. These factors collectively create a fertile ground for diphtheria’s devastating spread.
