Diphtheria: A Deadly Infection -By Badrudeen Nabeelat

Diphtheria is a highly contagious disease that manifests as either an upper respiratory tract or cutaneous infection called corynebacterium diphtheria. The outbreak of this fatal disease was recorded in Bangladesh, Halti, South Africa, Ukraine, Vietnam, and Yemen in the year 2016. This was also reported by a U.S. traveler in 2003. This deadly infection graced Nigeria with its presence by visiting 21 out of the 36 States in our country including the Federal Capital Territory. Its outbreak has been previously reported in 2011, which affected a rural area of the Borno state. Recently, the Federal Capital Territory Administration, Abuja, proclaimed that diphtheria has claimed the life of a four-year-old child in Dei-Dei District.

Diphtheria is a communicable and potentially life-threatening infection caused by a bacterium known as Corynebacterium diphtheria. It usually occurs in the spring or winter months. Individuals, who are most susceptible to this infection are the ones that are not completely immunized or those with low anti-toxin antibody levels. Some patients with diphtheria have a sickening or putrid odor on their breath. Diphtheria can be contracted by coming into contact with droplets from the respiratory tract of an infected person specifically through coughing or sneezing; also by coming into contact with the wounds or lesions of an infected person.

However, diphtheria could be noticeable two to five days after a person becomes infected. The signs and symptoms could be: thick gray membrane covering the throat and tonsils, sore throat and hoarseness, enlarged lymph nodes in the neck, nasal discharge, and tiredness to mention but a few, while in some people, there might be no prominent symptoms. If left unattended, diphtheria can lead to difficulty breathing, heart rhythm problems, nerve damage, and eventually death. If treated, most infected people survive their complications but the recovery pace is usually low. Even with treatment, diphtheria can be deadly, especially in children under age 5 or adults older than 40 years of age.

Furthermore, people with diphtheria will no longer be able to infect others forty-eight hours after they begin taking antibiotics but they need to complete their treatment to make sure there’s no remnant of the bacteria in their body.

In conclusion, diphtheria is not an infection to be taken with levity hand, and if anyone should notice any strange symptoms especially respiratory challenges should visit their nearest health care and children should be fully immunized to reduce the risk of contracting this infection.

Badrudeen Nabeelat is a 400level student of Agriculture, at Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto