A diphtheria disease causes a pathogen called Latin Corynebakterium diphtheriae or diphtheria bacillus. Against him, a diphtheria vaccine is given. The disease itself is dangerous because it causes severe intoxication of the whole organism, quickly leading to loss of strength and death of the sick. But even earlier choking may occur, caused by the development of the so-called “diphtheria croup”, when the films formed in the throat and the toxic edema accompanying them completely block the air access to the lungs and the person simply suffocates. The peculiarity of the pathogen is that it can be on the skin and mucous membranes of the nasopharynx of a sick person, who in this case acts as a carrier. When coughing or sneezing, the wand can be transmitted by airborne droplets to nearby people and cause them to develop the disease. Before a diphtheria vaccine was developed, this infection was very common and almost 80% of those who died died. Most of those suffering from this disease were young children, but a fatal disease did not spare adults either. After the diphtheria vaccine was massively introduced, the incidence of diphtheria, and especially toxic diphtheria croup, almost disappeared.
In the last decade of the last century (around the beginning of the 90s), a wave of panic rumors swept the country that the diphtheria vaccine often causes complications in the form of a fatal illness . As a result, many parents began to refuse vaccination, and by the end of the 90s this had its “bitter fruit”. In Russia, a record surge in diphtheria was recorded. And only emergency measures to vaccinate all previously unvaccinated adults and children restored the depleted immune layer of the population and stopped the outbreak. It was a sad experience, which showed on this example the need for vaccinations as a phenomenon in general.
Currently, diphtheria vaccine is included in the national vaccination calendar and the first vaccination is carried out starting from 3 months. Further, again at 4.5 months and 6 months. In the future, only revaccination is carried out at 7 and 14 years. Given that diphtheria, alas, is not one deadly disease, they usually vaccinate with a combination vaccine. For example, a diphtheria and tetanus vaccine, which is often added with the antitussive component. The result is the AKDC vaccine (a mixture of components containing diphtheria, coughing and diphtheria toxoids). The word toxoids means that they are very weak and not able to cause disease, but they produce antibodies and form an immunity to diseases. It is important to understand that in some cases, the disease is still possible, but in a mild form with the exception of mortality, while 8 out of 10 patients die without vaccination (see percentage above). In addition, the immunity is not lifelong, so there is a diphtheria vaccine for adults, which usually does not include an antitussive component (ADS or ADS-M), which must be revaccinated every 10 years.
The vaccination process itself has its own specific characteristics that need to be known, first of all, to the parents of children who are vaccinated against diphtheria. The first 2-3 days pain and local inflammatory reactions are possible at the vaccination site, which is usually injected into the anterior-lateral part of the thigh. This may be accompanied by a rise in temperature to 38-39 degrees. In this case, it is necessary to give an antipyretic and consult a doctor - you may need to prescribe desensitizing (antiallergic) drugs. This should not be a reason for refusing vaccination, because possible temporary discomfort is a small fee compared to acquiring reliable protection against deadly infections.