ABSTRACT
@#A case of a toxigenic strain of Corynebacterium diphtheriae in an immunocompetent adult is presented, with the possibility of the adult acquiring the infection from her unvaccinated child. The abovementioned adult is a 29-year-old housewife who was previously immunised with diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTaP) vaccination in childhood, who presented fever, cough, sore throat, hoarseness of voice, odynophagia, and bilaterally enlarged tonsils. A throat swab confirmed the presence of toxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae. The patient was given 80,000 international units (IU) dose of diphtheria antitoxin (DAT) and treated with 2.4 million units (MU) QID intravenous penicillin and oral erythromycin 800 mg twice daily for two weeks. The patient responded well to the treatment and recovered with no cardiovascular or neurotoxicity.
ABSTRACT
Despite the introduction of mass immunization, diphtheria continues to play a major role as a potentially lethal infectious disease in many countries. Delay in the specific therapy of diphtheria may result in death and, therefore, accurate diagnosis of diphtheria is imperative. This study was carried out at National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Delhi, India, on samples of suspected diphtheria cases referred from various government hospitals of Delhi and neighbouring areas during 2012-2014. Primary identification of Corynebacterium diphtheriae was done by standard culture, staining and biochemical tests followed by toxigenicity testing by Elek’s test on samples positive for C. diphtheriae. The results showed persistence of toxigenic C. diphtheriae in our community indicating the possibility of inadequate immunization coverage.