Causes diphtheria
Found in throat and nasopharynx of carriers and patients.
Spready by respiratory droplets, less commonly by direct contact or contaminated fomite.
Infection produces thick, grayish, adherent exudate (pseudomembrane) in the throat.
Colonisation and exotoxin production may (but rarely) cause tissue degneneration and death.
Corynebacterium can be isolated with selective medium (e.g. Tinsdale's agar - contains potassium tellurite)
Diagnosis is clinical. No fast, reliable lab test is available.
Definitive diagnosis requires culture and tested for virulence.
Prompt neutralisation of toxin, then eradication of organism.
First treat with horse serum antitoxin first, then antibiotics.
First line: Erythromycin
Second line: Penicillin G
Formalin treatment of the toxin produces a toxoid - same antigenicity but not toxicity -> thus used to immunisation
Prevention - by immunisation (usually with tetanus toxoid and pertussis antigen i.e. DTPa)
Booster injection - every 10 years.
Things to revise/add later:
Bibliography: LWW microbiology
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Created | 20040330 |