Diphtheria: Description
Diphtheria is an acute bacterial infection. It usually affects the upper respiratory tract, especially the pharyngeal mucosa.
In Germany, there is an obligation to report diphtheria: both suspected and actual illness and death from diphtheria must be reported by the physician to the Ministry of Health with the name of the affected person.
Diphtheria: Symptoms
The period between infection and the outbreak of the disease (incubation period) is relatively short: the first diphtheria symptoms appear as early as one to five days after infection.
Whitish-yellow coatings form on the tonsils. They are called pseudomembranes and are a sure sign of diphtheria for the doctor. The coatings can spread to the throat and/or trachea and nose. When you try to brush them off, the mucous membrane underneath begins to bleed.
A sweet and foul mouth odor occurs throughout the duration of the disease.
In rare cases, the bacterial toxin spreads to the internal organs. Then symptoms such as cardiac arrhythmias, paralysis of swallowing (if nerves are affected), pneumonia, kidney or liver failure can lead to death.
If the bacteria get into an open wound, ulcers can form, skin or wound diphtheria.
In the early stages, diphtheria may be confused with tonsillitis, laryngitis, or pseudocroup.
Diphtheria: Causes and risk factors
Diphtheria is caused by the bacterium Corynebacterium diphtheriae. It forms a toxin in the body called diphtheria toxin. This damages the mucous membranes and destroys the body’s cells.
Diphtheria: examinations and diagnosis
In diphtheria, a distinction is made between the tentative diagnosis and the actual diagnosis:
The doctor makes the tentative diagnosis based on the symptoms.
Diphtheria: Treatment
The patient is given an antidote to the diphtheria toxin (diphtheria antitoxin). This neutralizes the toxin that is freely present in the body, thus rendering it harmless. However, the antidote cannot do anything against the toxin that is already bound to body cells.
Another important treatment measure is bed rest for at least four weeks.
Immediately after diagnosis, affected persons are isolated, i.e. quarantined. Only people with sufficient vaccination protection are then allowed to come into contact with the patients.
Diphtheria vaccination
The disease can be prevented with a diphtheria vaccination. Since the vaccination was introduced in Germany, the number of new cases has fallen sharply. Nevertheless, local epidemics often occur because people repeatedly fail to get vaccinated.
Who should be vaccinated when and how often, you can read in our article Diphtheria vaccination.
Diphtheria: course of the disease and prognosis
However, the disease can also cause various complications that also affect the prognosis. In severe cases, for example, patients can die from heart failure or suffocation.
