Diphtheria : Diphtheria is an upper respiratory tract illness caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae, a facultative anaerobic, Gram-positive bacterium. It is characterized by sore throat, low fever, and an adherent membrane (a pseudomembrane) on the tonsils, pharynx, and/or nasal cavity. A milder form of diphtheria can be restricted to the skin. Less common consequences include myocarditis(about 20% of cases) and peripheral neuropathy (about 10% of cases )
Symptoms usually occur 1 to 7 days after the bacteria enter your body:
• Bluish coloration of the skin
• Bloody, watery drainage from nose
• Breathing problems, including difficulty breathing, fast breathing, high-pitch breathing sound (stridor)
• Chills
• Croup-like (barking) cough
• Drooling (suggests airway blockage is about to occur)
• Fever
• Hoarseness
• Painful swallowing
• Skin lesions (usually seen in tropical areas)
• Sore throat (may range from mild to severe)
Drugs for treatment of Diphtheria
• DPT- Diphtheria, Tetanus and Pertussis Vaccine
• Clindamycin
• Erythromycin
• Haemophilus B Conjugate Vaccine
• Pediarix Vaccine
• Tetanus-Diphtheria-Acellular Pertussis (Tdap)
• Penicillin
Pertussis (Whooping Cough) : Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is a highly contagious respiratory disease. It is caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. Pertussis is known for uncontrollable, violent coughing which often makes it hard to breathe. After fits of many coughs, someone with pertussis often needs to take deep breathes which result in a "whooping" sound. Pertussis most commonly affects infants and young children and can be fatal; especially in babies less than 1 year of age.The best way to protect against pertussis is immunization.
Erythromycin, clarithromycin, and azithromycin are preferred for the treatment of pertussis in persons =1 month of age. For infants <1 month of age, azithromycin is preferred for post exposure prophylaxis and treatment because azithromycin has not been associated with infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis (IHPS), whereas erythromycin has. For infants <1 month of age, the risk of developing severe pertussis and life-threatening complications outweighs the potential risk of IHPS that has been associated with macrolide use. Infants <1 month of age who receive a macrolide should be monitored for the development of IHPS and for other serious adverse events. For persons =2 months of age, an alternative to macrolides is trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole.