Weaver, Louis

• Individual
• Ancestors
• Descendants
• Relationship
• Timeline
• Family
• GEDCOM
• Suggest

Diphtheria- Corynbacterium diphtheriae 22877_lores

20200115HAv- https://phil.cdc.gov/Details.aspx?pid=22877

ID#: 22877
Description: Caption:
This illustration depicted a three-dimensional (3D), computer-generated image, of a group of Gram-positive, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, bacteria. The artistic recreation was based upon scanning electron microscopic (SEM) imagery.
High Resolution: Click here for hi-resolution image (19.54 MB)
Content Providers(s): CDC/ Sarah Bailey Cutchin
Creation Date: 2016
Photo Credit: Illustrator: Jennifer Oosthuizen
Links:
Categories:
CDC Organization
Skip Navigation Links.

MeSH
Skip Navigation Links.
Diseases

Bacterial Infections and Mycoses

Bacterial Infections

Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections

Actinomycetales Infections

Corynebacterium Infections
Organisms
Bacteria
Gram-Positive Bacteria
Actinobacteria

Actinomycetales

Corynebacterium

Corynebacterium diphtheriae
Gram-Positive Rods
Gram-Positive Asporogenous Rods
Gram-Positive Asporogenous Rods, Irregular
Corynebacterium
Corynebacterium diphtheriae

Copyright Restrictions: None -
This image is in the public domain and thus free of any copyright restrictions. As a matter of courtesy we request that the content provider be credited and notified in any public or private usage of this image.

Causes and Transmission
Young adult sneezing
Diphtheria is an infection caused by the Corynebacterium diphtheriae bacterium.
Diphtheria spreads (transmits) from person to person, usually through respiratory droplets, like from coughing or sneezing. Rarely, people can get sick from touching open sores (skin lesions) or clothes that touched open sores of someone sick with diphtheria. A person also can get diphtheria by coming in contact with an object, like a toy, that has the bacteria that cause diphtheria on it.

Symptoms
Photo of child with swollen neck due to diphtheria infection
A child with swollen neck due to diphtheria infection.

Bacteria that cause diphtheria can get into and attach to the lining of the respiratory system, which includes parts of the body that help you breathe. When this happens, the bacteria can produce a poison (toxin) that can cause:

Weakness
Sore throat
Fever
Swollen glands in the neck
The poison destroys healthy tissues in the respiratory system. Within two to three days, the dead tissue forms a thick, gray coating that can build up in the throat or nose. Medical experts call this thick gray coating a “pseudomembrane.” It can cover tissues in the nose, tonsils, voice box, and throat, making it very hard to breathe and swallow.

The poison may also get into the blood stream and cause damage to the heart, nerves, and kidneys.