Volume 29, Number 10—October 2023
Dispatch
Imported Toxigenic Corynebacterium Diphtheriae in Refugees with Polymicrobial Skin Infections, Germany, 2022
Benedikt Daniel Spielberger
, Anna Hansel, Alea Nazary, Eva-Maria Kleißle, Claus-Georg Lehr, Marcel Utz, Juliana Hofer, Siegbert Rieg1, and Winfried V. Kern1
, Anna Hansel, Alea Nazary, Eva-Maria Kleißle, Claus-Georg Lehr, Marcel Utz, Juliana Hofer, Siegbert Rieg1, and Winfried V. Kern1
Table 1
Demographics and clinical manifestations of 27 refugees with imported toxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae in polymicrobial skin infections, Germany, 2022*
| Study population |
No. (%) |
| Mean age at first assessment (range), y |
24 (18–49) |
| Suspected unaccompanied minor refugee |
3 (11) |
| Country of birth | |
| Afghanistan | 15 (56) |
| Syria | 11 (41) |
| Morocco |
1 (4) |
| Route of escape | |
| Asked about route | 18 (67) |
| Answered Balkan |
18 (100) |
| Clinical manifstations | |
| Any skin ulcer | 25 (93) |
| Lower thigh | 17 (63) |
| Knee | 3 (11) |
| Upper thigh | 2 (7) |
| Feet | 11 (41) |
| Hands | 8 (30) |
| Genitals |
2 (7) |
| Patients without skin wounds | 2 (7) |
| And with C. diphtheriae in throat swab specimen |
2 (100) |
| Mean duration of wounds (range), d | 22.5 (3–60) |
*Values are no. (%) except as indicated. All patients were male.
1These senior authors contributed equally to this article.
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Page updated: September 20, 2023
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