Causes and signs of diphtheria
1. What is diphtheria?
Diphtheria is an acute infectious disease caused by diphtheria bacteria. Anyone who comes into contact with the pathogen can get diphtheria. Usually, children from 1 to 10 years old are most affected because the antibodies passed on from the mother are no longer there.
Currently, there are drugs to treat diphtheria, however, in the advanced stages, diphtheria can damage the patient’s heart, kidneys and nervous system. Even with treatment, diphtheria can be fatal, with a death rate of 3% of people with diphtheria, and this rate is higher in children under 15 years old.
2. Causes of diphtheria
Diphtheria bacteria are the cause of the disease and can be transmitted from person to person through contact with secretions or respiratory tract.
Corynebacterium Diphtheriae is a gram-positive aerobic bacterium, very thin, shaped like a drumstick or rod. After this bacterium is infected with phages carrying the tox gene, they will produce toxigenicity and cause disease in the host body. This bacterium has three types: gravis, intermedius, and mitis. All three are capable of producing toxins to cause disease but at decreasing levels.
3. Incubation period and transmission method of diphtheria
The reservoir of bacteria is in both sick people and healthy people who carry the bacteria. This is both the reservoir and the source of disease transmission.
The incubation period is usually from 2 to 5 days, possibly longer. The period of disease transmission is often not fixed, can last about 2 weeks or shorter, at least over 4 weeks. The patient can eliminate the bacteria from the onset period, or also from the end of the incubation period. Healthy people can carry diphtheria bacteria from a few days to 3, 4 weeks; there are rare cases of chronic bacterial carriers lasting more than 6 months.
The disease is transmitted through the respiratory tract through contact with sick people or healthy people carrying diphtheria bacteria. The disease can also be transmitted by contact with objects contaminated with secretions from sick people.
4. How dangerous is diphtheria?
Diphtheria is a dangerous disease. After an incubation period of 2-5 days, the patient will often experience symptoms such as fatigue, mild fever and swollen lymph nodes in the neck. Initially, the disease can be easily confused with other sore throat diseases when there is no false membrane in the nasopharynx. Diphtheria spreads very quickly through the respiratory tract or indirect contact with objects such as toys containing the patient’s secretions.
If left untreated, diphtheria can lead to the following dangerous complications:
Respiratory problems: The bacteria that cause diphtheria can produce toxins that damage tissues at the site of infection, usually the nose and throat. There, the infection creates a tough, gray membrane made of dead cells, bacteria, and other substances. This membrane can block breathing.
Heart damage: Diphtheria toxin can spread through the bloodstream and damage other tissues in the body. For example, it can damage the heart muscle, causing complications such as myocarditis. Heart damage from myocarditis can be mild or severe. In the worst cases, myocarditis can lead to heart failure and sudden death.
Nerve damage: The toxin can also cause nerve damage. The nerves most commonly affected are those in the throat, where impaired nerve transmission can cause difficulty swallowing. Nerves to the arms and legs can also become inflamed, causing muscle weakness.
With treatment, most people with diphtheria survive these complications, but recovery is often slow. Diphtheria is fatal in about 5% to 10% of cases. The death rate is higher in children under 5 years of age or adults over 40 years of age.
5. Classification of diphtheria
5.1 Classical diphtheria
Classical diphtheria is the most common type of diphtheria, affecting the entire upper respiratory tract including the nose, throat, tonsils and larynx. Symptoms of the disease can vary depending on the affected area in the body.
5.1.1 Diphtheria of the throat and nose
Pharyngeal and nasal diphtheria makes the patient tired, has poor appetite, and has a sore throat because of the thick, tough, ivory-white pseudomembrane that adheres firmly to the tonsils or can spread to cover the entire pharyngeal area.
In some cases, the disease progresses severely, causing the patient to develop swollen lymph nodes in the neck and swelling in the submandibular region. In more severe cases of poisoning, the patient will become pale, have a rapid pulse, and gradually become lethargic and comatose. If not treated actively, death can occur within 6-10 days.
5.1.2 Laryngeal diphtheria
Laryngeal diphtheria often appears with pseudomembranes in the larynx or spreading downward from the pharynx.
The disease progresses rapidly and is especially dangerous. If not intervened and treated promptly, this pseudomembrane can develop and block the airway, causing respiratory failure and rapid death.
5.1.3 Malignant diphtheria (acute diphtheria)
Malignant diphtheria (acute diphtheria) usually appears in the early stages of the disease, usually from 3-7 days from the onset. The patient has a high fever of 39-40 degrees Celsius, both infected and severely poisoned, the ivory-white pseudomembrane spreads, the cervical lymph nodes swell, deforming the neck, leading to a flared neck.
5.2 Cutaneous diphtheria
This is the rarest type of diphtheria, characterized by a skin rash, sores or blisters anywhere on the body. Cutaneous diphtheria is more common in countries with tropical climates or in places with high population density, poor living conditions and sanitation.
6. Treatment of diphtheria
Diphtheria now has a cure. However, in the advanced stages of the disease, it can still be dangerous to the heart, kidneys and nervous system at any time. Therefore, patients need to be examined and treated at medical facilities with a team of highly specialized doctors and modern equipment to quickly recover and minimize dangerous complications that may occur.
7. How to prevent diphtheria
Diphtheria is the cause of serious health complications, even life-threatening. Therefore, people should absolutely not be subjective, protect the health of themselves and their families with the following measures:
Vaccinations are complete and on schedule;
Wash your hands frequently with soap and clean water;
Cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing;
Clean houses, schools, workplaces, etc. to ensure ventilation;
Clean mouth, nose and throat daily;
Limit contact with people who are sick or suspected of being sick.
In particular, people need to go to medical facilities immediately when any unusual signs of suspected illness appear. The doctor will order a sample of the patient’s throat or tissue sample from the patient’s infected wound and send it for testing to determine if it is Corynebacterium diphtheriae.
Diphtheria spreads very quickly, has dangerous complications and especially a high mortality rate. Therefore, whether children or adults, they need to be vaccinated with the right dose, on schedule, and go to the hospital for treatment immediately if symptoms of the disease are detected, to avoid dangerous complications and unfortunate consequences later.