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Diphtheria Information - Causes, Symptoms And Treatment of Diphtheria

What is Diphtheria?

Diphtheria is a common childhood disease in the 1930s, is an acute bacterial disease that can infect the body in two areas:

• the throat (respiratory diphtheria)
• the skin (skin or cutaneous diphtheria)

A vaccine against diphtheria has made it very rare today in the US and other developing countries.

Causes of Diphtheria

Diphtheria is caused by a bacterium, Corynebacterium diphtheriae. The actual disease is caused when the bacteria release a toxin, or poison, into the person's body.

Symptoms of Diphtheria

Symptoms of diphtheria may mimic a cold with a sore throat, mild fever, and chills. Usually, the disease causes a thick coating at the back of the throat, which can make it difficult to breathe or swallow. Other body sites besides the throat can also be affected, including the nose, larynx, eye, vagina, and skin.

Diagnosis of Diphtheria

A physician can usually diagnose the illness based on clinical examination. A swab culture of the mouth or affected mucous membrane may also be used to confirm the diagnosis.

Treatment of Diphtheria

Diphtheria is treated with both antibiotics and with diphtheria antitoxin.

Antibiotics - Diphtheria is also treated with antibiotics, such as penicillin or erythromycin. Antibiotics help kill bacteria in the body, clearing up infections. Antibiotics reduce to just a few days the length of time that a person with diphtheria is contagious.

An antitoxin - After doctors confirm that a person has diphtheria, the infected child or adult receives a special antitoxin. The antitoxin neutralizes the diphtheria toxin already circulating in your body. The antitoxin is injected into a vein (intravenously) or into a muscle (intramuscular injection). But first, doctors may perform skin allergy tests to make sure that the infected person doesn't have an allergy to the antitoxin. Persons who are allergic must first be desensitized to the antitoxin. Doctors accomplish this by initially giving small doses of the antitoxin and then gradually increasing the dosage.