Diphtheria By Sara Abu-Ghnaim

Diphtheria

• By Sara Abu-Ghnaim

What the @#$%&* is Diphtheria?

• Contagious disease of the throat

• Easily caught by young children and elders, because of weakened immune system

• Easily transferred by unclean places and crowded living areas

How is Diphtheria Transferred?

• Diphtheria is caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae, a bacterium.

• The bacterium produces a toxin (poison) that is carried in the bloodstream

• Usually appears 2-4 days after incubation period

• Highly contagious: can be caught be laughing

History of Diphtheria

• In early 1890s, Emil von Behring became an assistant at the Institute for Infectious Diseases, headed by Robert Koch

• Started his studies with experiments on the development of a therapeutic serum

The Cure

• In 1890, together with his university friend Erich Wernicke, he managed to develop the first effective therapeutic serum against diphtheria

• At the same time, together with Shibasaburo Kitasato, he developed an effective therapeutic serum against tetanus

Important animals in Diphtheria

• The researchers immunized rats, guinea pigs and rabbits with attenuated forms of the infectious agents causing diphtheria and alternatively, tetanus

• The sera produced by these animals were injected into non-immunized animals that were previously infected with the fully virulent bacteria

• The ill animals could be cured through the administration of the serum

Symptoms of Diphtheria

• As the infection progresses, the person may:

• have difficulty breathing or swallowing
• complain of double vision
• have slurred speech
• even show signs of going into shock (skin that's pale and cold, rapid heartbeat, sweating, and an anxious appearance)
• Kitty!!!

Isn’t There a Movie About This?

• In 1925, an epidemic of diphtheria struck the small Alaskan town of Nome.
• There was not enough antitoxin to treat all the townspeople, and severe winter weather prevented airplanes from delivering the serum.
• Relay of sled dog teams from Nenana (675 miles away) rushed the antitoxin to Nome, arriving in under 27.5 hours and saving the lives of many people.
• Oh yea, the movie is called Balto.

The End