A type of microscopic organisms called Corynebacterium diphtheria causes diphtheria. The condition is normally spread through person-to-person contact or through contact with objects that have the bacteria on them, such as a cup or used tissue. If you’re around an infected person when they sneeze, cough, or clean out their nose, you may also contract diphtheria. Even if an infected person doesn’t show any signs or symptoms of diphtheria, they’re still able to transmit the bacterial infection for up to six weeks after the initial contamination.
Complications
The worst possible complication of diphtheria is respiratory failure or death due to pseudo membrane development that blocks the airway. Other possible complications include cardiac problems such as rhythm disturbances, myocarditis, heart block, secondary pneumonia, septic shock, and disease of different organs, central nervous system, or heart tissue.
The disease may remain manageable, but in more extreme cases lymph nodes in the neck may swell, due to which breathing and swallowing becomes more hard. People in this phase should seek immediate medical attention, as obstruction in the throat may require intubation or a tracheotomy. Abnormal cardiac rhythms can occur early in the course of the illness or weeks later, and can lead to heart failure. Diphtheria can also cause paralysis in the eye, neck, throat, or respiratory muscles. Patients with severe cases are put in a hospital intensive care unit and given a diphtheria antitoxin. Since antitoxin does not neutralize toxin that is already bound to tissues, delaying its administration is associated with an increase in mortality risk. Therefore, the decision to administer diphtheria antitoxin is based on clinical diagnosis, and should not await laboratory confirmation.
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