Diphtheria
A highly virulent disease; vaccination is mandatory under Circular 52/2025/TT-BYT.
Transmission
Through the respiratory tract by contact with droplets from coughing or sneezing, or by direct contact with secretions or contaminated objects.
Symptoms
Fever, sore throat, difficulty swallowing, hoarseness; the hallmark is a thick, tough, greyish-white PSEUDOMEMBRANE stuck to the tonsils and throat that bleeds when removed.
Complications
Laryngeal diphtheria causing acute suffocation, toxic myocarditis, cranial nerve damage causing paralysis, circulatory failure and death.
People at high risk
Children who have not completed the vaccination schedule, adults whose antibodies have waned after many years without a booster.
Preventive vaccines
- Hexaxim – 6-in-1 combination vaccine
- Infanrix hexa – 6-in-1 combination vaccine
- Pentaxim – 5-in-1 combination vaccine (acellular)
- ComBE Five – 5-in-1 combination vaccine (whole-cell)
- DPT-VGB-Hib (SII) – 5-in-1 vaccine (DTwP-HepB-Hib)
- Tetraxim – 4-in-1 combination vaccine
- Boostrix (Tdap) – Reduced-antigen diphtheria–tetanus–pertussis vaccine
- DPT (IVAC) – Adsorbed diphtheria–pertussis–tetanus vaccine
- Td (IVAC) – Adsorbed tetanus–diphtheria vaccine, reduced antigen
- Adacel (Tdap) – Sanofi reduced-antigen diphtheria–tetanus–pertussis vaccine