Paediatric Patient with Diphteria Presenting With Bullneck in Vaccinated Era: A Case Report and Review

Background: Diphteria is a fatal infectious disease of the respiration tract. Although vaccination is available and already reach a high coverage, Indonesia still has reported cases of outbreaks and deaths on the past few years. Thus, it is important to understand that the disease hasn’t completely disappeared in this vaccination era, and early treatment should be administered following prompt diagnosis to prevent disease progression and complications. Case Presentation: A 10-year old boy was admitted to the ER due to dysphagia. Upon admission bull neck and pseudomembrane were found, and throat swab was performed. Upon positive findings, antibiotic and anti-diphtheria serum (ADS) was administered. Patient was hospitalized for 10 days, no shortness of breath and complications were observed during the admission. Summary: Although vaccination is available and already reaches a high coverage, the disease hasn’t completely disappeared in this vaccination era such as reported in this case. Early treatment should be administered following prompt diagnosis to prevent disease progression and complications.