Diphtheria

Diphtheria is an upper respiratory tract illness characterized by sore throat, low-grade fever, and an adherent membrane of the tonsil(s), pharynx, and/or nose. A milder form of diphtheria can be limited to the skin. It is caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae, an aerobic Gram-positive bacterium.

Diagnosis

Laboratory criteria

• Isolation of Corynebacterium diphtheriae from a clinical specimen, or
• Histopathologic diagnosis of diphtheria

Case classification

• Probable: a clinically compatible case that is not laboratory confirmed and is not epidemiologically linked to a laboratory-confirmed case
• Confirmed: a clinically compatible case that is either laboratory confirmed or epidemiologically linked to a laboratory-confirmed case

Empirical treatment should generally be started in a patient in whom suspicion of diphtheria is high.

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