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Volume 18, Number 2—February 2012
Research

Diphtheria in the Postepidemic Period, Europe, 2000–2009

Karen S. WagnerComments to Author , Joanne M. White, Irina Lucenko, David Mercer, Natasha S. Crowcroft, Shona Neal, Androulla Efstratiou, on behalf of the Diphtheria Surveillance Network
Author affiliations: Health Protection Agency, London, UK (K.S. Wagner, J.M. White, N.S. Crowcroft, S. Neal, A. Efstratiou); State Agency Infectology Center of Latvia, Riga, Latvia (I. Lucenko); World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark (D. Mercer); Public Health Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (N.S. Crowcroft); University of Toronto Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Toronto (N.S. Crowcroft)

Main Article

Table 3

Vaccination status of case-patients and clinical manifestations of toxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae infections and epidemiologically linked cases without laboratory confirmation, Latvia, Europe, 2000–2009*

Vaccination status Classic diphtheria (with membrane) Mild diphtheria/ severe pharyngitis Cutaneous Asymptomatic Not known Total
Full 64† 118 0 71 0 253
Partial 1 3 0 5 0 9
Unvaccinated 74 70 1 18 0 163
Not known 2 8 0 63 210 283
Total 141 199 1 157 210 708

*p<0.001 by test for trend (vaccination status and disease severity).
†Includes 52 fully vaccinated case-patients with classic respiratory diphtheria (with membrane) from an outbreak in the military in 2000. The outbreak comprised 145 symptomatic case-patients and 25 asymptomatic contacts. A total of 96% of these case-patients and contacts were 18–23 years of age at the time of diagnosis. Spread of disease was traced to use of a communal drinking cup (13).

Main Article

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Main Article

1Additional members of the Diphtheria Surveillance Network who contributed data are listed in Technical Appendix 1.

Page created: January 17, 2012
Page updated: January 17, 2012
Page reviewed: January 17, 2012
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
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