Diphtheria in an Adult: How Well Prepared Are We in Tackling the Disease? A Case Report

Abstract

Diphtheria is a forgotten communicable disease and presumed to be under sufficient control so much so that life savings drugs required for its treatment has disappeared from most hospitals. Contrary to this belief, classical diphtheria continues to exist in many parts of India despite extensive immunizations campaigns raising the suspicion of resurgence. The absence of essential drugs in treatment of this condition has further worsened the situation. The expenditure involved in procuring these drugs is yet another constraint. We here by present one such case of adult diphtheria and discuss the problems associated with its diagnosis and treatment.

Diphteria’s Outbreak Control in Blitar District

“…It would be very difficult to cure diphtheria without ADS. 16,17 The operational fund was an important factor in controlling the diphtheria outbreak in the Blitar district. The Blitar district health officials did not have a specific budget for the diphtheria outbreak, but the general outbreak funding was combined with other surveillance funding for one year.…”

Case Report: Pharyngeal Diphtheria in a Pregnant Woman from South India

“…9 Extensive seroprevalence studies are vital to understand the immune status of the community and develop an effective immunization strategy. [9][10][11][12][13][14][15] However, early diagnosis is a key in treating diphtheria effectively because late presentations are often associated with complications such as myocarditis and neuropathy. 2,9 Also, it is important to understand that DAT only neutralizes the circulating toxin and not the tissue bound toxins; thus, late presentations may be associated with increased morbidity and mortality.…”

“…Complete clinical recovery after DAT administration and confirmed microbiological investigations such as MALDI-TOF identification and molecular toxin gene detection helped to confirm a definitive diagnosis of diphtheria. 4,10,11 The patient will be closely followed because there are reports of fetal complications after DAT administration. 8 However, in our follow-up, the patient's 18-week fetal anomaly scan was unremarkable.…”

“…3,4,6,7 Also, several research articles suggest waning immunity against diphtheria in adults who completed childhood immunization. [7][8][9][10][11] Thus, larger sero-surveillance studies are needed to understand the cause of rising diphtheria cases.…”