Prevention
There is a vaccine for diphtheria. Most people receive their first dose as children in the form of a combined vaccine called DTaP (diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis).

For adolescents and adults, a combination vaccine, called a Td booster, protects against both tetanus and diphtheria. It should be administered once every 10 years after age 7 to maintain immunity.

Symptoms
In its early stages, diphtheria may be mistaken for a severe sore throat. Other symptoms include a low-grade fever and enlarged lymph nodes (swollen glands) located in the neck. Another presentation of diphtheria can be skin lesions that may be painful, red and swollen. Symptoms usually appear 2 to 4 days after infection, with a range of 1 to 6 days. People carrying diphtheria germs are contagious for up to 4 weeks without antibiotic therapy, even if they themselves do not develop symptoms.

Who should get Td vaccine?

• Adolescents and adults who did not receive a primary series of immunization against tetanus and diphtheria during childhood.
• Adolescents and adults who have not had a Td booster in the last 10 years.

Vaccine Safety
The tetanus-diphtheria (Td) vaccine is very safe. When side effects do occur, they are usually soreness, redness or swelling at the injection site, and a slight fever. As with any medicine, there are very small risks that serious problems could occur after getting a vaccine such as an allergic reaction or neurologic condition. However, the potential risks associated with diphtheria are much greater than the potential risks associated with the diphtheria vaccine. You cannot get diphtheria from the vaccine.

FACT	Diphtheria can be prevented with a safe and effective vaccine.
FACT	You cannot get diphtheria from the vaccine.
FACT	Diphtheria is transmitted to others through close contact with discharges from an infected person's nose, throat, eyes and/or skin lesions.
FACT	Nearly one out of every 10 people who get diphtheria will die from it.
FACT	Diphtheria can lead to breathing problems, heart failure, paralysis and sometimes death.
FACT	Most cases of diphtheria occur among unvaccinated or inadequately vaccinated people.
FACT	Recovery from diphtheria is not always followed by lasting immunity, so even those persons who have survived the disease need to be immunized.
FACT	A tetanus-diphtheria (Td) booster every 10 years gives protection against these two diseases.
FACT	Although no longer a very common disease in the United States, diphtheria remains a large problem in other countries and can pose a serious threat to United States citizens who may not be fully immunized and who travel to other countries or have contact with immigrants or international travelers coming to the U.S.
FACT	A recent epidemic of diphtheria in Eastern Europe and the New Independent States of the former Soviet Union resulted in over 5,000 deaths between 1990 and 1995.