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What is Diphteria?
Diphtheria was a significant public health problem in Austria during the early 1800s, as it was in many other parts of Europe. Children under 5 were particularly at risk of getting this disease.
Diphtheria was one of the leading causes of high infant mortality rates in Austria during this time.
Diphtheria bacteria spread from person to person, usually through respiratory droplets, like from coughing or sneezing. People can also get sick from touching infected open sores or ulcers.
Those at increased risk of getting sick include:
Those in the same household, those with a history of close contact with the patient and those directly exposed to secretions from the suspected infection site (e.g., mouth, skin) of the patient.
In Vienna, the capital of Austria, diphtheria outbreaks were a frequent occurrence, and infants were particularly vulnerable to the disease due to their immature immune systems.
Diphtheria was especially common among the lower to middle class mainly because of the living conditions.
This disease was often associated with:
1613 - The spanish epidemic: this year was known for its epidemic of diphtheria.
1735- The plague, diphtheria, swept through England with a case fatality ratio of 40% among children aged 5 and below.
1826 - Diphtheria was given its name by French physician Pierre Bretonneau (1778-1862). Bretonneau recorded the first successful use of tracheotomy in a case of diphtheria and many times after that but the patients eventually died.
1883 - The bacterium was identified by Edwin Klebs (1834-1913), a Swiss-German pathologist. It was known at first as the Klebs-Loeffler bacterium.
1. Josephine Bonapartes' grandson, Napoleon Charles.
2. Queen Victoria of England's daughter, Princess Alice.
3. Abraham Lincoln's son, Eddie, died in 1850 - 3 years old.
4. Grover Cleveland's daughter, Ruth.
5. James Garfield's daugther, Eliza.
During the early 1800s, there were no effective treatments for diphtheria. As time went on, there were more scientific and biological advancements that includes:
Diphtheria rarely occurs in the United States and Western Europe, where children have been vaccinated. However, diphtheria is still common in developing countries where vaccination rates are low.
In the United States, there are four vaccines used to prevent diphtheria: DTaP, Tdap, DT, and Td.
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