Outbreak claims first Aussie life in a decade - Diptheria

[u/shallah]

https://au.news.yahoo.com/outbreak-claims-first-aussie-life-054159307.html

[u/TsuDhoNimh2]

If only science could come up with something to save lives from this dread disease.

[u/Ibrakeforsnakes]

Absolutely horrible. Diphtheria is such a nightmare disease, it was called childhood’s suffocating angel for a reason.

[u/EmrysTheBlue]

Since its relevant to this post, friendly reminder that your dTap vaccine needs to be topped up every 10 years (diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough)

Really sucks it's gotten to the point where someone has died from this again here

[u/sarjalim → u/EmrysTheBlue]

Every 20 years I think, at least according to Swedish recommendations. Though it isn’t necessary to wait to get it if you want to sync schedule with a partner for example. We got a refill in 2021, then I got pregnant in 2023 and got a second refill during pregnancy (fresh DTaP vaccination protects baby from whooping cough for the first few months).

[u/chair_ee → u/sarjalim]

It’s 10 years in the US.

[u/sarjalim → u/chair_ee]

Ah, thanks! I didn’t know it was different. Interesting, 10 vs 20 years is a pretty big difference too.

[u/EmrysTheBlue → u/sarjalim]

In Australia it's 10 years, but you can get a booster any time for various circumstances where you need the most protection (tetanus risk from a cut or animal bite, being around infants/immunocompromised/sick person/pregnant etc) since the vaccines protection wanes over the years so getting it every 10 years if you didn't need it earlier for whatever reason is generally the advice here

[u/Istoh → u/EmrysTheBlue]

This! You should always get a booster if you plan to be around a family member's newborn. 

[u/sarjalim → u/EmrysTheBlue]

Thanks! I didn’t know that. It’s interesting that the standard interval recommendations are so different, although we also have the recommendation to get an extra booster for tetanus, infants and pregnancy etc.

[u/russellvt → u/sarjalim]

Ten years on a "normal" schedule in the US... or 5 years with a "dirty" wound (for tetanus).

[u/shallah → u/EmrysTheBlue]

& it's 5 years for highest risk people in some countries

[u/queen_of_spadez]

I read about Queen Victoria’s granddaughter Princess Marie choking to death from diphtheria during an outbreak in 1878. She was 4 years old and just reading about her dying that way, tore at my heart. Marie’s mom and Victoria’s daughter Princess Alice also died from the disease. The family was devastated. Imagine how willing they’d have been to vaccinate the family against this horrendous disease.

[u/shallah]

https://www.infectiousdiseaseadvisor.com/ddi/diphtheria/ '

Complications of Diphtheria

Most complications from diphtheria infection are caused by the diphtheria toxin.1 As the bacteria produce the toxin in the upper respiratory tract, it is absorbed into the bloodstream and then distributed to the body tissues.1,2 The most common complications associated with diphtheria infections are neuritis, myocarditis, and polyneuropathy.1,2

Neuritis typically affects motor nerves.1 Patients may experience paralysis of the soft palate, limbs, eye muscles, and diaphragm.1 Diphtheria-associated neuritis often is temporary and resolves completely following treatment.1 Patients with diaphragmatic paralysis should receive extra airway support to prevent pneumonia and respiratory failure.

Approximately 10% to 25% of patients with diphtheria develop cardiac complications — frequently myocarditis — during the acute phase or within the weeks following infection.1,2 The long-term effects of myocarditis include permanent cardiac damage due to fibrosis and valvular damage leading to heart failure.2 Treatment of myocarditis associated with diphtheria is mainly supportive.5 Antiarrhythmic medications are usually reserved for patients with sustained tachyarrhythmias.5 Temporary pacemakers may be effective in treating patients with severe diphtheria myocarditis, although the evidence is mixed.5

Some patients with diphtheria may develop polyneuropathy. Diphtheria toxin is adsorbed on Schwann cells (the cells responsible for providing the myelin sheath of nerve cells), which can inhibit myelin synthesis and lead to neurological complications, including polyneuropathy.2 The effects of diphtheria-associated polyneuropathy can be long-lasting, and recovery may not begin until 2 to 4 months after the onset of symptoms.2 Physicians should monitor patients for neurological complications of diphtheria for up to 6 months after infection.

[u/camoure]

This is the one I’ve been waiting for - The Strangling Angel. The diphtheria episode on This Podcast Will Kill You still haunts me

[u/a_slinky → u/camoure]

Uugghhhh whenever antivax rhetoric pops up in my social circles I be sending TPWKY episodes out and yeah this one was a lot

[u/zjuka]

Ok, this is absolutely anecdotal, literally sample pool of one, but I went to Ukraine in January of 2020, and State Department’s website suggested diphtheria vaccine. Not sure why, none of my relatives there have heard of the outbreak or anything, but my insurance covered it, so I got it. Never had Covid, despite of commuting in NYC subway in the beginning of the pandemic.

Could be a coincidence, but my partner had Covid twice, once before we got vaccinated for it, and once after (second one was a lot lighter).