About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staffPeople who are at increased risk of contracting diphtheria include:
- Children and adults who don't have up-to-date immunizations
- People living in crowded or unsanitary conditions
- People who have a compromised immune system
- Anyone who travels to an area where diphtheria is endemic
Diphtheria rarely occurs in the United States and Europe, where health officials have been immunizing children against the condition for decades. However, diphtheria is still common in developing countries where immunization rates are low.
In areas where diphtheria is a standard vaccination, the disease is mainly a threat to unvaccinated or inadequately vaccinated people who travel internationally or have contact with people from less-developed countries.
- Diphtheria. World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs089/en/. Accessed Feb. 9, 2011.
- Diphtheria. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/sec14/ch172/ch172c.html. Accessed Feb. 9, 2011.
- Daybell DK, et al. Epidemiology and clinical features of diphtheria. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Feb. 9, 2011.
- Overturf GD. Corynebacterium diphtheriae. In: Long SS. Principles and Practice of Pediatric Infectious Diseases Revised Reprint. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/about.do?about=true&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-7020-3468-8..50002-X&isbn=978-0-7020-3468-8&uniqId=235245982-7. Accessed Feb. 10, 2011.
- Daybell DK, et al. Diagnosis and treatment of diphtheria. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Feb. 9, 2011.
- Recommended immunization schedule for persons aged 0 through 6 years - United States 2011. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/recs/schedules/downloads/child/0-6yrs-schedule-pr.pdf. Accessed Feb. 10, 2011.
- Tetanus, diphtheria (Td) or tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis (Tdap) vaccine: What you need to know. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/downloads/vis-td-tdap.pdf. Accessed Feb. 10, 2011.
- Bishai WR, et al. Diphtheria and other infections caused by corynebacteria and related species. In: Fauci AS, et al. Harrison's Online. 17th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aid=2898307. Accessed Feb. 10, 2011.
Find Mayo Clinic on