{"id":1200,"date":"2022-05-24T16:50:57","date_gmt":"2022-05-24T12:50:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gh.ge\/en\/disease\/diphteria\/"},"modified":"2022-05-24T16:50:57","modified_gmt":"2022-05-24T12:50:57","slug":"diphteria","status":"publish","type":"disease","link":"https:\/\/gh.ge\/en\/disease\/diphteria\/","title":{"rendered":"Diphteria"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>DEFINITION<\/h2>\n<div >Diphtheria (dif-THEER-e-uh) is a serious bacterial infection usually affecting the mucous membranes of your nose and throat. Diphtheria typically causes a sore throat, fever, swollen glands and weakness. But the hallmark sign is a sheet of thick, gray material covering the back of your throat, which can block your airway, causing you to struggle for breath.<\/div>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<div >&nbsp;<\/div>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<div >Diphtheria is extremely rare in the United States and other developed countries, thanks to widespread vaccination against the disease.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<div >Medications are available to treat diphtheria. However, in advanced stages, diphtheria can damage your heart, kidneys and nervous system. Even with treatment, diphtheria can be deadly &mdash; up to 3 percent of people who get diphtheria die of it. The rate is higher for children under 15.<\/div>\n<h2>CAUSES<\/h2>\n<div >The bacterium Corynebacterium diphtheriae causes diphtheria. Usually C. diphtheriae multiply on or near the surface of the mucous membranes of the throat. C. diphtheriae spreads via three routes:<\/div>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<ul>&#13;<\/p>\n<li ><strong>Airborne droplets.<\/strong> When an infected person&#8217;s sneeze or cough releases a mist of contaminated droplets, people nearby may inhale C. diphtheriae. Diphtheria spreads efficiently this way, particularly in crowded conditions.<\/li>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<li ><strong>Contaminated personal items.<\/strong> People occasionally catch diphtheria from handling an infected person&#8217;s used tissues, drinking from the person&#8217;s unwashed glass, or coming into similarly close contact with other items on which bacteria-laden secretions may be deposited.<\/li>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<li ><strong>Contaminated household items.<\/strong> In rare cases, diphtheria spreads on shared household items, such as towels or toys.<\/li>\n<p>&#13;\n<\/ul>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\nYou can also come in contact with diphtheria-causing bacteria by touching an infected wound. <\/p>\n<p>People who have been infected by the diphtheria bacteria and who haven&#8217;t been treated can infect nonimmunized people for up to six weeks &mdash; even if they don&#8217;t show any symptoms.<\/p>\n<h2>SYMPTOMS<\/h2>\n<div >Diphtheria signs and symptoms usually begin two to five days after a person becomes infected and may include:<\/div>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<ul>&#13;<\/p>\n<li >A thick, gray membrane covering your throat and tonsils<\/li>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<li >A sore throat and hoarseness<\/li>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<li >Swollen glands (enlarged lymph nodes) in your neck<\/li>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<li >Difficulty breathing or rapid breathing<\/li>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<li >Nasal discharge<\/li>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<li >Fever and chills<\/li>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<li >Malaise<\/li>\n<p>&#13;\n<\/ul>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<div >In some people, infection with diphtheria-causing bacteria causes only a mild illness &mdash; or no obvious signs and symptoms at all. Infected people who remain unaware of their illness are known as carriers of diphtheria, because they can spread the infection without being sick themselves.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<div >Skin (cutaneous) diphtheria<\/div>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<ul>&#13;<\/p>\n<li >A second type of diphtheria can affect the skin, causing the typical pain, redness and swelling associated with other bacterial skin infections. Ulcers covered by a gray membrane also may develop in cutaneous diphtheria.<\/li>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<li >Although it&#8217;s more common in tropical climates, cutaneous diphtheria also occurs in the United States, particularly among people with poor hygiene who live in crowded conditions.<\/li>\n<p>&#13;\n<\/ul>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<div ><strong>When to see a doctor<\/p>\n<p> <\/strong><\/div>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<div >Call your family doctor immediately if you or your child has been exposed to someone with diphtheria. If you&#8217;re not sure whether your child has been vaccinated against diphtheria, schedule an appointment. Make sure your own immunizations are current.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DEFINITION Diphtheria (dif-THEER-e-uh) is a serious bacterial infection usually affecting the mucous membranes of your nose and throat. Diphtheria typically causes a sore throat, fever, swollen glands and weakness. But the hallmark sign is a sheet of thick, gray material covering the back of your throat, which can block your airway, causing you to struggle &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/gh.ge\/en\/disease\/diphteria\/\">Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","letter":[5],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Diphteria - English GH<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gh.ge\/en\/disease\/diphteria\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Diphteria - English GH\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"DEFINITION Diphtheria (dif-THEER-e-uh) is a serious bacterial infection usually affecting the mucous membranes of your nose and throat. Diphtheria typically causes a sore throat, fever, swollen glands and weakness. But the hallmark sign is a sheet of thick, gray material covering the back of your throat, which can block your airway, causing you to struggle &hellip; Continued\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/gh.ge\/en\/disease\/diphteria\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"English GH\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gh.ge\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/gh.ge\/en\/\",\"name\":\"English GH\",\"description\":\"GH EN\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/gh.ge\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gh.ge\/en\/disease\/diphteria\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/gh.ge\/en\/disease\/diphteria\/\",\"name\":\"Diphteria - English GH\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gh.ge\/en\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-05-24T12:50:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-05-24T12:50:57+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gh.ge\/en\/disease\/diphteria\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/gh.ge\/en\/disease\/diphteria\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gh.ge\/en\/disease\/diphteria\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Diseases\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/gh.ge\/en\/disease\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Diphteria\"}]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Diphteria - English GH","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/gh.ge\/en\/disease\/diphteria\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Diphteria - English GH","og_description":"DEFINITION Diphtheria (dif-THEER-e-uh) is a serious bacterial infection usually affecting the mucous membranes of your nose and throat. Diphtheria typically causes a sore throat, fever, swollen glands and weakness. But the hallmark sign is a sheet of thick, gray material covering the back of your throat, which can block your airway, causing you to struggle &hellip; Continued","og_url":"https:\/\/gh.ge\/en\/disease\/diphteria\/","og_site_name":"English GH","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/gh.ge\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/gh.ge\/en\/","name":"English GH","description":"GH EN","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/gh.ge\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/gh.ge\/en\/disease\/diphteria\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/gh.ge\/en\/disease\/diphteria\/","name":"Diphteria - English GH","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/gh.ge\/en\/#website"},"datePublished":"2022-05-24T12:50:57+00:00","dateModified":"2022-05-24T12:50:57+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/gh.ge\/en\/disease\/diphteria\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/gh.ge\/en\/disease\/diphteria\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/gh.ge\/en\/disease\/diphteria\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Diseases","item":"https:\/\/gh.ge\/en\/disease\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Diphteria"}]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gh.ge\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/disease\/1200"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gh.ge\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/disease"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gh.ge\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/disease"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gh.ge\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/disease\/1200\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gh.ge\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"letter","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gh.ge\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/letter?post=1200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}