Book Trailer for Lucy in the Sky by Anonymous.
Diphtheria is a highly contagious and potentially life-threatening bacterial disease caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae. There are two types of diphtheria: respiratory and cutaneous. Respiratory diphtheria involves the nose, throat and tonsils, and cutaneous diphtheria involves the skin.
1 Most cases are caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae, and the infection is usually spread by contact with people breathing out droplets, but also by skin contact, and rarely via shared objects. 2  Certain strains of the bacterium produce a toxin that causes the serious complications of diphtheria.hanks to routine immunization, diphtheria is a disease of the past in most parts of the world. Since the 1980s only a handful of cases of the bacterial infection have been reported in the US, with just one case since 2004.