Diphtheria

Diphtheria is an infection caused by bacteria. It mainly affects the nose and throat, but can also affect the skin. It is very infectious and can become serious very quickly. Most cases occur in people who have never had a diphtheria vaccine, or who did not complete the initial course.

Symptoms

Fever, sore throat, difficulty swallowing, loss of appetite, hoarse voice. Serious cases can lead to breathing problems and heart failure.

How do you catch diphtheria?
Diphtheria is mostly spread by coughs and sneezes, but there are other ways it can be spread, including by eating unpasteurised dairy products.

Incubation period
2 – 5 days

Diagnosis
Diphtheria is diagnosed by sending swabs from the mouth and throat to a laboratory for testing.

Prevention
A course of the vaccine combining diphtheria with tetanus and polio is offered routinely in the UK from the age of 8 weeks. A booster vaccination may be advised for travellers going to areas of high risk.

Treatment
As diphtheria can be very serious, patients will be isolated in hospital and started on antibiotics before swab test results are received.

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Vaccination options

Part of the standard UK vaccination schedule, a booster is offered to travellers combined with tetanus and polio.

Level of protection: ~ 95-100%

Protection duration: 10 years.

How is it given: Single Booster Injection

Ideally start: Booster is suitable for last minute travellers

 

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Did you know?

  • Before routine immunisation was introduced in the 1940’s, diphtheria was a major cause of death for children worldwide.
  • A thick grey skin can be seen attached to the tonsils and back of the throat with this disease.
  • Many developed countries now have good vaccination programmes, but diphtheria is still a risk for travellers to less developed countries.

Clinical Oversight By:

Professor David Ross

Professor David Ross OStJ

Medical Director, MASTA

PhD MSc MBBS MRCGP FRCPCH FFPH FFTM RCPS(Glasg.) FRCP(Glasg.)

GMC No. 3115417

Professor David Ross OStJ is the Medical Director of MASTA and has been associated with MASTA since 2005. He served 41 years in the Army, including over 10 years as senior advisor on public health to the UK Surgeon General. In 2012 he was appointed the Parkes Professor of Preventive Medicine, in 2014 an Honorary Queen’s Physician and in 2023 an Officer in the Order of St John.

Professor David Ross

Professor David Ross OStJ

Medical Director, MASTA

PhD MSc MBBS MRCGP FRCPCH FFPH FFTM RCPS(Glasg.) FRCP(Glasg.)

GMC No. 3115417

Professor David Ross is the Medical Director at MASTA and has been associated with the company since 2005. He was commissioned into the Royal Army Medical Corps in 1983 and graduated in medicine from St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London in 1986. In 2012 he was appointed the Parkes Professor of Preventive Medicine, in 2014 an Honorary Queen’s Physician and in 2023 an Officer in the Order of St John. He was the senior advisor on public health from 2012–2023 to the UK Surgeon General. He retired from the Army in October 2024, after 41 years active service.

Professor David Ross was Director of Education, Honorary Secretary, and Vice Dean before becoming Dean of the Faculty of Travel Medicine, Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons (Glasgow) in October 2024. Recent travel medicine research interests have included malaria prevention and tuberculosis screening. He was Chief Examiner of the Diploma of Medicine in Conflict & Catastrophes at the Society of Apothecaries until 2024, is Chair of the Final UK MFPH and an Examiner at the UK Faculty of Public Health.

The last few years of his military working life were dominated by supporting the international and national public health response to COVID-19, where he managed many large COVID outbreaks both overseas and in the UK. David also led research into risk factors for mental ill health in the UK Army and for this was awarded a PhD by the University of Glasgow in 2024.