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diphtheria
(dif-thērŽe-ә)
an acute, highly contagious disease, usually of childhood, caused by infection with the bacillus Corynebacterium diphtheriae. It generally affects the membranes of the throat and is calledpharyngeal or respiratory diphtheria. Less frequently it affects the membranes of the nose (nasal diphtheria) or somewhere else in the body.The first symptoms usually include sore throat, fever, headache, and nausea. Patches of gray
to dirty yellow membrane form in the throat and gradually grow into one membrane; this membrane, along with swelling of the
throat, may interfere with swallowing or breathing. Diphtheria usually spreads in droplets of moisture from the mouth, nose,
or throat of an infected person, or from a contaminated object that an infected person has had contact with. adj., diphtheŽrial, diphtherŽic, diphtheritŽic., adj.
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