1. Two cases of imported respiratory diphtheria in Edinburgh, Scotland, October 2019
- Author
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J Stevenson, Sarah Clifford, Oliver Koch, Norman K. Fry, Colin Sumpter, Katie L. Hopkins, Daniella Ross, Jennifer Crane, Louise Wellington, Naomi J. Gadsby, Katherine Hill, Karen F Macsween, and Lucy Li
- Subjects
0301 basic medicine ,Male ,Pediatrics ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Tunisia ,Epidemiology ,medicine.drug_class ,Diphtheria antitoxin ,Re-emerging infections ,030106 microbiology ,Antibiotics ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Respiratory diphtheria ,medicine ,Humans ,In patient ,030212 general & internal medicine ,Original Paper ,Public health ,business.industry ,Diphtheria ,Middle Aged ,medicine.disease ,Anti-Bacterial Agents ,Infectious Diseases ,Immunisation ,Scotland ,Female ,Foreign travel ,Contact Tracing ,business ,Risk assessment ,Travel-Related Illness ,Contact tracing - Abstract
We report two cases of respiratory toxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae infection in fully vaccinated UK born adults following travel to Tunisia in October 2019. Both patients were successfully treated with antibiotics and neither received diphtheria antitoxin. Contact tracing was performed following a risk assessment but no additional cases were identified. This report highlights the importance of maintaining a high index of suspicion for re-emerging infections in patients with a history of travel to high-risk areas outside Europe.
- Published
- 2020