Diphtheria is a contagious bacterial infection that mainly affects the nose and throat. Less commonly, it can also affect the skin.
Diphtheria is highly contagious. The bacteria spread when an infected person coughs or sneezes, and droplets of their saliva enter another person’s mouth or nose.
Diphtheria is very rare in England because most people have been vaccinated against it.
The symptoms of diphtheria include:
- high temperature (fever) of 38ºC (100.4ºF) or above
- sore throat
- breathing difficulties
Treating diphtheria
Diphtheria is treated with antibiotic and antitoxin medicine. Anyone suspected of having the condition will be isolated in hospital.
Children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of diphtheria. The most serious cases can be fatal.
An estimated 5-10% of people who get diphtheria will die from complications that arise from the condition, such as breathing difficulties, inflammation of the heart (myocarditis) or problems with the nervous system.
Vaccination
All children should be vaccinated against diphtheria as part of their routine childhood vaccination schedule. Adults should consider receiving a booster vaccine when travelling to parts of the world where diphtheria is widespread. See Diphtheria - prevention for more information and advice about the diphtheria vaccination.
How common is diphtheria?
Before a vaccination programme was introduced in 1940, diphtheria was a very common condition and one of the leading causes of death in children.
The vaccination programme has been very successful. In 2010, there were just eight recorded cases of diphtheria in England and Wales, and no deaths. Diphtheria is a notifiable disease, which means that if a doctor diagnoses the condition, they must tell the local authority.
Even though the incidence of diphtheria in England is low, there's a risk that an outbreak could occur if the number of people who are vaccinated falls below a certain level.
This risk was demonstrated by the epidemic that struck the countries of the former Soviet Union between 1990 and 1998. It resulted in 157,000 cases and 5,000 deaths.
The epidemic was caused by an increase in the number of children who were not vaccinated against diphtheria.
