Human Diphtheria Infection From a Cat Bite
Authors: Anja Berger, Torsten Schmidt-Wieland, Ingrid Huber, Andreas Sing
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2011)

Letters1 November 2011Human Diphtheria Infection From a Cat BiteAnja Berger, MD, Torsten Schmidt-Wieland, MD, Ingrid Huber, PhD, and Andreas Sing, MD, PhDAnja Berger, MDFrom National Consiliary Laboratory on Diphtheria, D-85764, Oberschleissheim, Germany; Labor Dr. Gaertner, D-88212 Ravensburg, Germany; Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, D-85764 Oberschleissheim, Germany; and National Consiliary Laboratory on Diphtheria and Bavarian State Institute of Health, D-85764 Oberschleissheim, Germany.Search for more papers by this author, Torsten Schmidt-Wieland, MDFrom National Consiliary Laboratory on Diphtheria, D-85764, Oberschleissheim, Germany; Labor Dr. Gaertner, D-88212 Ravensburg, Germany; Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, D-85764 Oberschleissheim, Germany; and National Consiliary Laboratory on Diphtheria and Bavarian State Institute of Health, D-85764 Oberschleissheim, Germany.Search for more papers by this author, Ingrid Huber, PhDFrom National Consiliary Laboratory on Diphtheria, D-85764, Oberschleissheim, Germany; Labor Dr. Gaertner, D-88212 Ravensburg, Germany; Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, D-85764 Oberschleissheim, Germany; and National Consiliary Laboratory on Diphtheria and Bavarian State Institute of Health, D-85764 Oberschleissheim, Germany.Search for more papers by this author, and Andreas Sing, MD, PhDFrom National Consiliary Laboratory on Diphtheria, D-85764, Oberschleissheim, Germany; Labor Dr. Gaertner, D-88212 Ravensburg, Germany; Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, D-85764 Oberschleissheim, Germany; and National Consiliary Laboratory on Diphtheria and Bavarian State Institute of Health, D-85764 Oberschleissheim, Germany.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-155-9-201111010-00021 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Background: Diphtheria is a potentially life-threatening bacterial infection that usually affects the mucous membranes of the nose and throat. Cutaneous diphtheria is another form of the disease that causes the typical pain, redness, and swelling associated with other bacterial skin infections and may progress to chronic ulcers.Objective: To report a new mode of transmitting diphtheria.Case Report: A 62-year-old diabetic woman from Dinkelsbuhl, Germany, was bitten by a stray cat that she had taken in a few days earlier. Clinicians at the local health care center described a swollen right hand with a 3-cm × 1.5-cm fibrinous, nonpurulent lesion. Cultures of ...References1. Wagner KS, White JM, Crowcroft NS, De Martin S, Mann G, Efstratiou A. Diphtheria in the United Kingdom, 1986-2008: the increasing role of Corynebacterium ulcerans. Epidemiol Infect. 2010;138:1519-30. [PMID: 20696088] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. Bonmarin I, Guiso N, Le Flèche-Matéos A, Patey O, Patrick AD, Levy-Bruhl D. Diphtheria: a zoonotic disease in France? Vaccine. 2009;27:4196-200. [PMID: 19393707] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Hatanaka A, Tsunoda A, Okamoto M, Ooe K, Nakamura A, Miyakoshi M, et al. Corynebacterium ulcerans diphtheria in Japan [Letter]. Emerg Infect Dis. 2003;9:752-3. [PMID: 12781024] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Berger A, Huber I, Merbecks SS, Ehrhard I, Konrad R, Hörmansdorfer S, et al. Toxigenic Corynebacterium ulcerans in woman and cat. Emerg Infect Dis. 2011;17:1767-9. [PMID: 21888821] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Abrahamian FM, Goldstein EJ. Microbiology of animal bite wound infections. Clin Microbiol Rev. 2011;24:231-46. [PMID: 21482724] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. De Mercado LD. Ludovici Mercati, medici a cubicolo Philippi Tertii Hispaniarum, et novi orbis, sev Indiarum regis potentissimi, ac protomedici, et in Vallesoletana academia primariae cathedrae professoris emeriti, Consultationes morborum complicatorum, et gravißimorum: cum Disputationibus necessariis ad naturam cuiusque morborum capessendam, praesagium, & curationem. Quibus accedunt, I. Tractatus Unicus, continens gravissimas atque difficiles abditarum rerum disputationes, magni momenti & usus. II. Libri Duo, De puerorum educatione, custodia, et providentia: atque de morborum, qui ipsis accidunt, curatione. Operum eiusdem auctoris Tomus Quintus. Frankfurt, Germany: Officina Paltheniana; 1629:139. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From National Consiliary Laboratory on Diphtheria, D-85764, Oberschleissheim, Germany; Labor Dr. Gaertner, D-88212 Ravensburg, Germany; Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, D-85764 Oberschleissheim, Germany; and National Consiliary Laboratory on Diphtheria and Bavarian State Institute of Health, D-85764 Oberschleissheim, Germany.Disclosures: None disclosed. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited byZoonotic Transmission of Toxigenic Corynebacterium ulcerans Strain, Germany, 2012Cat-Related Zoonoses: Killing You Softly with Feces and FleasDetection Methods for Laboratory Diagnosis of DiphtheriaTwo Cases of Cutaneous Diphtheria Associated with Occupational Pig Contact in Germany 1 November 2011Volume 155, Issue 9Page: 646-648KeywordsBacterial diseasesDiphtheriaLesionsMouthPathogensPharynxPrevention, policy, and public healthSkin infectionsTetracyclinesUlcers ePublished: 1 November 2011 Issue Published: 1 November 2011 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2011 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...