A new analysis warns that once-controlled childhood diseases could come roaring back if vaccine access declines – including diphtheria, a historic killer known as the “strangling angel.”
Researchers modeled what could happen over 25 years if vaccines for polio, measles, rubella, and diphtheria became unavailable, according to ProPublica. While measles cases are already “teetering on the brink of an explosion,” the report highlights diphtheria as a particularly deadly threat.
The disease earned its nickname because it attacks the respiratory system, forming a thick layer of dead tissue in the throat that can suffocate patients.
“For those who escape suffocation, the toxin can damage the nerves and heart,” ProPublica reported Friday. “Patients who seem better can drop dead weeks later.”
The researchers warned that “we would be playing a game of high-stakes roulette if we lost the vaccine,” and concluded that “there is a chance that the strangling angel could become devastating again.”
While rarer and less contagious than measles, diphtheria is far more deadly, the study found.
“On average, the model predicts 138,000 deaths from diphtheria,” it said. “In the worst-case scenario, though, the model shows that more than a million people could die from diphtheria in 25 years without a vaccine.”
The stark warning comes as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. considers changes that critics say could threaten vaccine availability in the United States.
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