Diphtheria represents an infectious disease which is provoked by the bacterium under the name corynebacterium diphtheriae. This illness first of all hits the mucous membranes in the respiratory tract (in case of respiratory diphtheria), but it can also strike the skin (this is cutaneous diphtheria). The disease may also affect the lining tissues in the eyes, ears as well as in the genital areas.
Throughout the time diphtheria used to be the most common cause of death in kids. Diphtheria was called the strangling angel of kids. Several epidemics hit Europe, and the American colonies were struck as well by a diphtheria outbreak in the eighteenth century. In most recent time in the 1990s huge diphtheria outbreaks happened in Russia and also in some other countries of the former Soviet Union.
The bacterium of diphtheria was identified for the first time in the 1880s. An antitoxin to fight against diphtheria bacteria was developed in the 1890s and the 1st vaccine was developed in the 1920s. Since the diphtheria vaccine was developed and administrated diphtheria occurrences have greatly decreased. But we should say that diphtheria is still endemic in some areas of the world. Respiratory diphtheria is a very rare disease in the US nowadays (5 cases a year). Moreover hence diphtheria first affected little kids at the time when there were no vaccines, an enlarged number of cases at the present time happen in the adults who are unvaccinated or have been inadequately immunized.
Diphtheria causes
Generally diphtheria is evolved by toxin releasing strains of such a gram positive bacillus as corynebacterium diphtheriae. It is worth mentioning that there are 4 bacterium types (mitis, gravis, belfanti, intermedius). Each of the four types differs in the seriousness of illness it causes. The strains that are nontoxigenic are normally responsible for less serious cutaneous diphtheria.
The respiratory diphtheria symptoms are usually evolved by the ability of the bacterium to provoke a local inflammatory response of the body cells that line in the upper layers of the respiratory tract. It is necessary to be aware that there cases when this disease may become more widespread and serious. You should also know that diphtheria can affect other body organs too.