Abstract
We report a sporadic case of pharyngeal diphtheria in Kure City. A 24-year-old male company employee presented to a local clinic with fever and sore throat in February 1997. A grayish white furry membrane covering both the palatal tonsils was observed. Since examination of laryngeal swabs suggested diphtheria, he was kept in clinical isolation. Treatment with freeze-dried diphtheria equine antitoxin and antibiotics resulted in improvement, and the patient was discharged from the hospital without any sequelae.
In this patient, incomplete childhood immunization could be the cause of the disease. Forty-three individuals from his workplace and family were examined clinically and serologically, but none showed evidence of diphtheria infection. The present case emphasized the continuous need for immu-nization against diphetheria in infancy.
