Minister of Public Health Juan Octavio Ceballos reported that 25 portions of diphtheria anti-toxin to combat an outbreak of diphtheria primarily in slum areas in Santiago province had arrived. The incidence of diphtheria in the DR is so low that the medicine is not imported by pharmaceutical companies. Minister of Public Health Ceballos said, "There is no motive for national alarm. He explained that the cases and deaths in 1999 are less than those detected in 1998." Some 38 cases of diphtheria are suspect, of which 28 occurred in Santiago. Cases have occurred to children who have not been appropriately vaccinated, as report the authorities.
