Diphtheria Vaccination

1
Diphtheria Vaccination

• www.travel-doc.com

2
Diphtheria is an infection caused by the
bacterium Corynebacterium diphtheriae. Signs and
symptoms may vary from mild to severe. They
usually start two to five days after exposure.
Symptoms often come on fairly gradually beginning
with a sore throat and fever. In severe cases a
grey or white patch develops in the throat. This
can block the airway and create a barking cough
as in croup. The neck may swell in part due to
large lymph nodes. A form of diphtheria that
involves the skin, eyes, or genitals also exists.

• www.travel-doc.com

3
The risks for travelers

• Ensure British Vaccination Schedule complete for
  all travelers including booster doses as
  teenagers.
• Travelers should be aware of
• Persistence of disease in many regions of the
  world to which unvaccinated individuals are
  susceptible
• Waning immunity from diphtheria vaccine with
  increasing age
• Individuals with an incomplete primary
  vaccination history for diphtheria, irrespective
  of region of travel
• 10 yearly boosters of vaccine should be given for
  travel to epidemic/endemic areas particularly
  where individuals will be mixing with the local
  population (e.g. health workers, teachers,
  volunteers).

• www.travel-doc.com

4
Signs and symptoms of diphtheria

• Presentation varies depending on region of upper
  respiratory tract affected.
• Pseudomembrane characteristic a grey/white
  membrane adherent to underlying mucosa resulting
  from toxin effects.
• Typically presents with fever, malaise and sore
  throat  pseudomembrane is visible on the tonsils
  and may extend to the rest of the pharynx/larynx.
• Associated with bull neck appearance enlarged
  painful neck lymph nodes and soft tissue oedema.

• www.travel-doc.com

5
Contact us
Phone [phone] Nottingham 0114 3583930
Sheffield Email info_at_travel-doc.com Website
www.travel-doc.com

• www.travel-doc.com

6
Thank you