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April 29, 2002

INTERNATIONAL IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"St. Petersburg Reports Diphtheria Outbreak, Five Die" ITAR-TASS (www.itar-tass.com) (04/27/02); Krupenik, Nikolai

An outbreak of diphtheria in St. Petersburg, Russia, has claimed the lives of five citizens and infected more than 200 others in the past 12 months.  St. Petersburg health officials note that none of the people who died were vaccinated against the disease; free diphtheria shots are available at the local medical center. The current diphtheria infection rate in St. Petersburg is two times higher than it was in 2000.

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