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By Mayo Clinic staffDoctors may suspect diphtheria in a sick child who has a sore throat with a gray membrane covering the tonsils and throat. Doctors confirm the diagnosis by taking a sample of the membrane from the child's throat with a swab and having the sample grown (cultured) in a laboratory. Your doctor should notify the laboratory that diphtheria is suspected.
Doctors can also take a sample of tissue from an infected wound and have it tested in a laboratory, to check for the type of diphtheria that affects the skin (cutaneous diphtheria).
If a doctor suspects diphtheria, treatment begins immediately, even before the results of bacterial tests are available.
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- Daybell DK. Diagnosis and treatment of diphtheria. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Feb. 12, 2009.
- Recommended immunization schedule for persons aged 0 through 6 years. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/recs/schedules/downloads/child/2009/09_0-6yrs_schedule_pr.pdf. Accessed Feb. 12, 2009.
- Vaccines and preventable diseases: Diphtheria vaccination. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/diphtheria/default.htm. Accessed Feb. 12, 2009.