Confirmed Case
Clinical illness1 or systemic manifestations compatible with diphtheria in a person with an upper respiratory tract infection or infection at another site (e.g., wound, cutaneous) plus at least one of the following:
Laboratory confirmation of infection:
- Isolation of Corynebacterium diphtheriae with confirmation of toxin from an appropriate clinical specimen including the exudative membrane OR
- Isolation of other toxigenic corynebacteria (Corynebacterium ulcerans or Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis) from an appropriate clinical specimen, including the exudative membrane OR
- Histopathologic diagnosis of diphtheria
Epidemiologic link (contact within 2 weeks prior to onset of symptoms) to a laboratory-confirmed case
Clinical / Probable Case
Clinical illness1 in the absence of laboratory confirmation or epidemiological like to a laboratory-confirmed case.
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1Clinical illness is characterized as an upper respiratory tract infection (nasopharyngitis, laryngitis, or tonsillitis) with/without an adherent nasal, tonsillar, pharyngeal and/or laryngeal membrane, plus at least one of the following:
- Gradually increasing stridor
- Cardiac (myocarditis) and/or neurologic involvement (motor and/or sensory palsies) 1 to 6 weeks after onset
- Death, with no known cause