So what exactly is the rare infection, which had not been recorded in the country since the 1990s?
Here’s everything you need to know about diphtheria.
Bacteria Corynebacterium diphtheriae, which causes diphtheria. (CDC / Jennifer Oosthuizen)
Diphtheria is a contagious infection caused by the bacterium Corynebacterium diphtheria that mainly affects a person’s upper respiratory tract. It can affect people of any age.
The bacterium releases a toxin that spreads a membrane through the trachea, causing breathing difficulties and, in severe cases, suffocation and death.
It can also affect the skin, heart and nervous system.
What are the symptoms of diphtheria?
Symptoms of diphtheria usually appear two to five days after becoming infected.
- a sore throat;
- swallowing problems;
- weakness;
- mild fever;
- respiratory problems;
- a gray or green membrane in the throat;
- swollen neck glands.
If the infection occurs on the skin, it can cause ulcers or open sores.
A skin lesion due to diphtheria. (CDC)
Yes. Diphtheria is one of the first diseases vaccinated against children in Australia, which is why we have not had any infections since the 1990s.
Last year, 90% of children under the age of six were vaccinated.
The vaccine helps prevent infection and is recommended for children up to two months of age.
In Australia, diphtheria immunization is only available through a combination vaccine, known as DTP. This also provides protection against tetanus and whooping cough.
The federal health department recommends that people in the following groups be vaccinated:
- Children 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 18 months, 4 years and between 10 and 15 years;
- Pregnant women in the third trimester of each pregnancy;
- People aged 50 who have not been vaccinated in the last 10 years;
- People 65 years of age or older who have not been vaccinated in the last 10 years;
- People traveling abroad who have not been vaccinated in the last 10 years;
- Laboratory workers who may have contact with the bacterium Corynebacterium diphtheria.
Diphtheria is one of the first diseases against which children are vaccinated in Australia. (CDC)
What treatments are available?
Diphtheria treatment is usually twofold: patients receive antibiotics and an antitoxin.
Antibiotics kill and eliminate the bacteria that cause the disease, while the antitoxin prevents the poison created by the bacteria from harming the patient.
Sometimes, surgery is also required to remove the membrane that has formed through the throat, and other medications may be required to deal with the complications and side effects of the disease.
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Diphtheria is transmitted from person to person through drops in the air. They are often transmitted when an infected person sneezes or coughs and another person inhales the drops or touches a surface on which the drops have fallen.
Direct contact with an infected wound can also transmit the disease.
People who have the disease can be infectious for up to four weeks or even longer in some cases if they do not receive antibiotics.
How deadly is diphtheria?
According to the World Health Organization, between 5 and 10% of people with diphtheria die, even if they receive adequate treatment.
Without proper medical care, this mortality rate increases even more.
The disease used to be one of the leading causes of death in Australia, killing more people than any other infectious disease in the early 20th century, and was a particularly common cause of child death until the 1940s.
Although it is still very rare here, outbreaks are more common in countries with lower vaccination rates.
Cases worldwide have also increased. The WHO reported 4,349 infections in 2009, but by 2019 that number had risen to 22,986.