When economic crisis hits a country vaccinations are usually the first thing to go. This can have very serious consequences. Approximately 1200 deaths per year have resulted from the ongoing diphtheria epidemic in the former Soviet Union which began in 1990 and is still going strong.
Diphtheria can be a very serious infection.
Diptheria is normally an infection of the throat caused by a bacterium, Corynebacterium diphtheriae . The bacteria grow in our throats and produce a protein. This protein causes our cells to die by stopping protein production by our cells. This bacterial protein is called diphtheria toxin . The first symptom of infection is very sore throat.