About Diphtheria

Before the introduction of vaccines, diphtheria was a leading cause of childhood death around the world, including in the United States. Due to the success of the U.S. immunization program, diphtheria is now nearly unheard of in the United States. However, the disease continues to cause illness globally and there have been outbreaks reported in recent years. In 2018, countries reported more than 16,000 cases of diphtheria to the World Health Organization, and there are likely many more cases.