Diphteria Tetanus
A Guide for Travelers
Excerpted from CDCP, where
you can find much more information.
Causes
Tetanus is caused by bacteria which live in soil, dust and manure.
Tetanus causes infection when it enters the body through a break in the skin.
Diphtheria is an infection caused by a bacterium
and is spread through the coughs and sneezes of an infected person.
Tetanus is usually fatal.
Around 10 percent of people exposed to diphtheria die from the disease.
The main regions throughout the world where diphtheria occurs at present are Russia and the former states of the Soviet Union due to a recent epidemic.
Cases of diphtheria have occurred in Finland, Estonia, Poland and Belarus with cases also reported in Germany, Belgium and the UK due to imported infection.
Symptoms:
Laryngitis or pharyngitis or tonsillitis and an adherent membrane of the tonsils, pharynx and/or nose with an average incubation period of 2-5 days.
Precautions
Both tetanus and diphtheria are serious diseases which can be prevented by vaccination.
To maintain immunisation - once you are fully immunised, you should receive booster immunisation at 50 years of age.
Contagiousness
Duration
Treatment