Diphtheria: What is it, how does it spread, and what are the symptoms?

Despite the disease being extremely rare in the UK, at least 50 instances of diphtheria are estimated to have been found in asylum seekers in England this year. A media outlet disclosed that the virus was contracted by a guy who died after residing at the Manston immigration processing center in Kent.

Health officials are now concerned that some migrants with probable diphtheria have been transferred from the Manston facility to other regions of the nation.

What is diphtheria?

Diphtheria is a highly infectious infection caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae bacteria, which generates a toxin that causes illness. This toxin destroys healthy tissue in the respiratory system, producing nose and throat difficulties. It can also cause skin infections such as blisters and ulcers.

What are the signs and symptoms?

Toxins begin damaging respiratory tissue between two and three days. A grey-coloured thick coating occurs inside the throat and nose at this point, causing the following symptoms:

• Swallowing and breathing difficulties
• Throat discomfort
• Neck gland enlargement
• Temperatures are extremely high.
• In the most challenging situations, the toxin enters the bloodstream and causes heart, kidney, or nerve damage, even death - although this is highly unusual in vaccinated individuals.

Vaccination

Diphtheria is extremely rare in the United Kingdom since individuals have been consistently immunized against it since the 1940s. Vaccines for tetanus and polio are routinely combined. According to NHS data for 2021-22, uptake was 91.8%. In the United Kingdom, newborns are given three doses at eight, twelve, and sixteen weeks of age, then again at three years and four months, before a booster dosage at fourteen.

FAQs:

1. What is the most common cause of diphtheria?
   Diphtheria is a deadly infection caused by bacteria strains that produce a toxin.
2. How does one get the virus?
   Diphtheria is contracted by coming into touch with droplets from an infected person's respiratory system.