Diphtheria meaning

Diphtheria is a bacterial infection that usually affects the respiratory tract. A characteristic sign of a diphtheria infection is a thick, hard, grayish coating (pseudomembrane) lining the throat. While diphtheria is not common in the developed world due to vaccination, it can cause serious complications, including death, if left untreated. Symptoms Diphtheria used to be a very common cause of disease and death, especially in children. The severity of the infection and diphtheria's symptoms led to its once-macabre nickname—"the strangling angel"—in the decades before the infection was well understood and there was widespread availability of a vaccine. One of the hallmark features of diphtheria is the formation of a thick, hard, gray-colored coating (pseudomembrane) lining the throat. It may coat the tonsils, the nose, and other membranes in the respiratory tract. As the membrane builds up and thickens, it can make it difficult to breathe. It may obstruct the person's airway or make it hard for them to swallow. When trying to remove or scrape off the membrane, bleeding of the tissue will occur. The membrane is highly infectious and filled with diphtheria toxin. Not only does this mean it can spread the infection, but it can also make the person with diphtheria very ill if the toxin spreads through the body (in a condition known as • Those who haven't received primary vaccination or have missed "booster" shots • Those who did not receive a timely diagnosis or for whom treat...

Recent Examples on the Web Routine childhood immunizations for diseases such as hepatitis A and B, diphtheria, tetanus, polio and the flu are an important way of priming a child’s immune system to protect them against potentially deadly illnesses from an early age, said Dr. Anne Zink, Alaska’s chief medical officer. — Annie Berman, Anchorage Daily News, 26 Aug. 2022 California has a number of school vaccine requirements, including polio, diphtheria, tetanus, measles and pertussis, but COVID-19 is not among them at this early stage. — Melissa Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 18 Aug. 2021 Among children, vaccine rates for preventable diseases like diphtheria, polio and measles are declining, per the CDC. — Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Feb. 2023 Overall coverage for the primary childhood vaccine series in Michigan, which includes vaccines that prevent measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, haemophilus influenzae, hepatitis, polio, chickenpox and pneumonia, fell to 68.5% in the first quarter of 2022. — Kristen Jordan Shamus, Detroit Free Press, 9 Aug. 2022 In Massachusetts, students in kindergarten through 12th grade are required to show records of being immunized with DTaP/Tdap (targeting three serious diseases diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough), polio, MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella), hepatitis B, and varicella (chicken pox) vaccines. — BostonGlobe.com, 6 Aug. 2021 In 1927, their baby died of diphtheria. — Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 6 Apr. 2021 That tra...

Like many other upper respiratory diseases, diphtheria is most likely to break out during the winter months. At one time it was a major childhood killer, but it is now rare in developed countries because of widespread immunization. Since 1988, all confirmed cases in the United States have involved visitors or immigrants. In countries that do not have routine immunization against this infection, the mortality rate varies from 1.5-25%. Persons who have not been immunized may get diphtheria at any age. The disease is spread most often by droplets from the coughing or sneezing of an infected person or carrier. The incubation period is two to seven days, with an average of three days. It is vital to seek medical help at once when diphtheria is suspected, because treatment requires emergency measures for adults as well as children. Causes and symptoms The symptoms of diphtheria are caused by toxins produced by the diphtheria bacillus, Corynebacterium diphtheriae (from the Greek for "rubber membrane"). In fact, toxin production is related to infections of the bacillus itself with a particular bacteria virus called a phage (from bacteriophage; a virus that infects bacteria). The intoxication destroys healthy tissue in the upper area of the throat around the tonsils, or in open Nasal diphtheria produces few symptoms other than a watery or bloody discharge. On examination, there may be a small visible membrane in the nasal passages. Nasal infection rarely causes complications by its...