Diphtheria is one of the bacterial infections, which are characterized by both general toxic manifestations and a local fibrinous inflammatory reaction. In general, diphtheria is a childhood disease, that is, about 96% of all recorded cases of the disease are diphtheria in children. In adults, diphtheria manifests itself in a more severe form than in children. In this regard, the symptoms of diphtheria in adults are somewhat more pronounced.
The causes of diphtheria are reduced solely to the impact on the human body of the pathogen - corynebacterium diphtheria (its toxigenic strain). The pathway of the pathogen is airborne.
Diphtheria is classified by the location of the entrance gate of the infection. Symptoms of diphtheria (if we talk about local ones) depend on what form of the disease a patient has. Diphtheria of the oropharynx, nose and respiratory tract is isolated. In addition, a whole group of rare diphtheria localizations is isolated into a separate group. This includes diphtheria of wound surfaces, skin and external genital organs.
The manifestation (symptoms of diphtheria) is directly proportional to the amount of toxin secreted by the bacterium. The danger of diphtheria lies precisely in the fact that the toxin affects vital organs (heart, kidneys, nervous system).
The onset of the disease is characterized by an increase in body temperature and the appearance of secretions on the surface of the mucosa (at the site of infection). Subsequently, the discharge takes the form of plaque and causes the formation of fibrous films. The latter consist of fibrin fibers and the pathogen itself. Fibrinous films are usually white or grayish in color, tightly soldered to the tissues underneath.
The danger of diphtheria films is that an increase in their size can lead to difficulty breathing up to asphyxiation. Over time, the amount of the pathogen increases, as a result, a large amount of toxin enters the bloodstream. Diphtheria toxin causes common diphtheria symptoms.
The severity of diphtheria largely depends on the location of the pathological process, the amount of pathogen and the characteristics of this strain of corynebacterium. So the most severe symptoms of diphtheria are observed with a common and toxic (hypertoxic) form.
The common form is manifested by pronounced general symptoms of intoxication (febrile temperature, lethargy, weakness, pale skin color and dry mucous membranes of the oral cavity). In addition, the common form of diphtheria is characterized by acute tonsillitis, swelling and hyperemia of the tonsils, sore throat, as well as an increase in the nearest lymph nodes up to three centimeters (slight pain in the lymph nodes during palpation is possible). This form of the disease lasts from seven to ten days (at best) to two to three weeks (at worst).
The most severe and dangerous is the hypertoxic form of diphtheria. From the moment the onset of the disease, cramps occur, after a few hours the patient's pressure drops, the skin becomes pale and cold. A fatal outcome is observed after one to three days from the start of the pathological process.
The danger of all forms of diphtheria lies in the development of severe complications, such as impaired cardiac activity, the development of diphtheria myocarditis, as well as damage to the nervous system and paralysis of the muscles involved in the act of breathing.
The developed system of vaccinations against diphtheria has established itself at a high level. As a result, in our country, as in many other countries of the world, DTP is also included in the preventive vaccination calendar (where the abbreviation "D" indicates the presence of diphtheria toxoid in the vaccine). As a result of vaccination, diphtheria is currently a vaccine-controlled infection.