Corynebacterium diphtheriae

Corynebacterium diphtheriae
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Bacteria
Phylum: Actinomycetota
Class: Actinomycetia
Order: Mycobacteriales
Family: Corynebacteriaceae
Genus: Corynebacterium
Species:
C. diphtheriae
Binomial name
Corynebacterium diphtheriae
(Kruse 1886) Lehmann and Neumann 1896 (Approved Lists 1980)[1]

Corynebacterium diphtheriae[a] is a Gram-positive pathogenic bacterium that causes diphtheria.[2] It is also known as the Klebs–Löffler bacillus because it was discovered in 1884 by German bacteriologists Edwin Klebs (1834–1912) and Friedrich Löffler (1852–1915).[3] These bacteria are usually harmless, unless they are infected by a bacteriophage carrying a gene which gives rise to a toxin.[4] This toxin causes the disease.[5] Diphtheria is caused by the adhesion and infiltration of the bacteria into the mucosal layers of the body, primarily affecting the respiratory tract and causing the subsequent release of an exotoxin.[6] The toxin has a localized effect on skin lesions, as well as a metastatic, proteolytic effects on other organ systems in severe infections.[6] Originally a major cause of childhood mortality, diphtheria has been almost entirely eradicated due to the vigorous administration of the diphtheria vaccination in the 1910s.[7]

Diphtheria is no longer transmitted as frequently due to the development of the vaccine, DTaP. Although diphtheria outbreaks continue to occur, this is often in developing countries where the majority of the population is not vaccinated.[8]

  1. ^ Parte AC. "Corynebacterium". LPSN.
  2. ^ Hoskisson PA (June 2018). "Microbe Profile: Corynebacterium diphtheriae – an old foe always ready to seize opportunity". Microbiology. 164 (6): 865–867. doi:10.1099/mic.0.000627. PMC 6097034. PMID 29465341.
  3. ^ Barksdale L (December 1970). "Corynebacterium diphtheriae and its relatives". Bacteriological Reviews. 34 (4): 378–422. doi:10.1128/br.34.4.378-422.1970. PMC 378364. PMID 4322195.
  4. ^ Ott L, Möller J, Burkovski A (March 2022). "Interactions between the Re-Emerging Pathogen Corynebacterium diphtheriae and Host Cells". International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 23 (6): 3298. doi:10.3390/ijms23063298. PMC 8952647. PMID 35328715.
  5. ^ Muthuirulandi Sethuvel DP, Subramanian N, Pragasam AK, Inbanathan FY, Gupta P, Johnson J, et al. (2019). "Insights to the diphtheria toxin encoding prophages amongst clinical isolates of Corynebacterium diphtheriae from India". Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology. 37 (3): 423–425. doi:10.4103/ijmm.IJMM_19_469. PMID 32003344.
  6. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Clarke KE, MacNeil A, Hadler S, Scott C, Tiwari TS, Cherian T (October 2019). "Global Epidemiology of Diphtheria, 2000-20171". Emerging Infectious Diseases. 25 (10): 1834–1842. doi:10.3201/eid2510.190271. PMC 6759252. PMID 31538559.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Mayo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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