Vaccines and Preventable Diseases:
Diphtheria Vaccination
Pronounced (dif-THEER-ee-a)
What You Should Know:
For Health Professionals:
What You Should Know
- Brief description
Symptoms, treatment, transmission, etc. - Pictures of Diphtheria
Warning: Some of these photos are quite graphic. - Travelers information
Information and updates on risks for travelers, precautions, prevention, etc. - Timeline of Diphtheria Disease and Vaccine
Source: History of Vaccines - Diphtheria basics
Fact sheet offers overview of Diphtheria disease and vaccine risks and benefits
Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis Vaccines
There are four combination vaccines used to prevent diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis: DTaP, Tdap, DT, and Td. Two of these (DTaP and DT) are given to children younger than 7 years of age, and two (Tdap and Td) are given to older children and adults.
Children should get 5 doses of DTaP, one dose at each of the following ages: 2, 4, 6, and 15-18 months and 4-6 years. DT does not contain pertussis, and is used as a substitute for DTaP for children who cannot tolerate pertussis vaccine.
Td is a tetanus-diphtheria vaccine given to adolescents and adults as a booster shot every 10 years, or after an exposure to tetanus under some circumstances. Tdap is similar to Td but also containing protection against pertussis. Adolescents 11-18 years of age (preferably at age 11-12 years) and adults 19 through 64 years of age should receive a single dose of Tdap. For adults 65 and older who have close contact with an infant and have not previously received Tdap, one dose should be received. Tdap should also be given to 7-10 year olds who are not fully immunized against pertussis. Tdap can be given no matter when Td was last received.
(Upper-case letters in these abbreviations denote full-strength doses of diphtheria (D) and tetanus (T) toxoids and pertussis (P) vaccine. Lower-case “d” and “p” denote reduced doses of diphtheria and pertussis used in the adolescent/adult-formulations. The “a” in DTaP and Tdap stands for “acellular,” meaning that the pertussis component contains only a part of the pertussis organism.)
- As an adult, do I need this vaccine?
(19 years and older) - Side Effects of vaccine
Excerpt from Vaccine Information Statement
- Vaccine
Information Statement (VIS) (Td, DTaP, and Tdap)
(DTP is no longer used in the United States) - Questions
and Answers
about the various vaccines (DT, DTaP, Td, Tdap) - State Vaccine Requirements
Includes school vaccine requirements - Travelers information
Information and updates on risks, precautions, etc.
- SIDS Not Linked
to Number & Variety of Childhood Vaccines
Institute of Medicine report - Febrile Seizures After MMR and DTP Vaccinations
- Additives in Vaccines
As with all vaccines, there can be minor reactions, including pain and redness at the injection site, headache, fatigue or a vague feeling of discomfort.
- What if we stopped vaccinating for this disease?
- Who should not be vaccinated with Diphtheria vaccine?
- See Pregnancy section below.
For Health Professionals
Clinical Information on Diphtheria
- Technical
information
Clinical Features, Etiologic Agent, Incidence, Complications, Transmission, Risk Groups, Surveillance, Trends, Challenges, etc. - Ask
the Experts
CDC experts answer your clinical questions (Immunization Action Coalition) - Treatment: Diphtheria Antitoxin (DAT)
Diphtheria Antitoxin (DAT) is not licensed by the FDA for use in the U.S. CDC is authorized to distribute DAT to physicians as an Investigational New Drug. - Proper storage and handling of vaccines UPDATED Dec 2011
CDC Vaccine Storage and Handling guide includes shelf life, reconstitution instructions... - Immunization of Healthcare Workers
- Pediarix vaccine: questions and answers
- Tdap vaccine: recommendations, press release, etc.
- Package inserts (Adacel, Boostrix, Daptacel, Infanrix, Kinrix, Pediarix, Pentacel, Tripedia, and more package inserts...) Posted Feb 2010
Vaccine Recommendations on Diphtheria
- ACIP recommendations (includes recommendations for DTaP, Hib and DTP, Tdap, and, Tdap and Td Vaccines and Pregnancy)
- Healthcare Personnel Vaccination Recommendations [PDF-67KB, 1 page]
Posted Oct 2009 - Contraindications
- Standing Orders
- VFC resolution regarding DTaP vaccine
- Pregnancy
- Prevention of Diphtheria Among Pregnant & Postpartum Women & their Infants
ACIP Recommendations - MMWR: May 14, 2008 / 57(Early Release);1-47 - Pregnancy guidelines (Td)
- Pregnancy guidelines (Tdap)
- Prevention of Diphtheria Among Pregnant & Postpartum Women & their Infants
References and Resources
- Publications: related MMWR articles, links, and references
- Pink Book's chapter on diphtheria (Updated April 2011)
Epidemiology & Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases, 12th Edition - Surveillance manual's chapter on diphtheria (Updated Aug 2008)
Manual for the Surveillance of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases textbook - Travelers Health: Yellow Book
- Diphtheria: Haiti Pre-decision Brief for Public Health Action Posted Mar 2010
- Check Your Vials: Is it Tdap, DTaP, or Td? [PDF-388KB, 1 page]
Source: California Department of Health Services, Immunization Branch - Worksheet for reporting diphtheria [PDF-35KB, 3 pages]
- Tdap printable materials
Source: California Distance Learning Health Network
Provider Education
- CDC Commentary: With Pertussis on the Rise, Who Needs a Tdap Vaccination?
In this video commentary from the CDC, Stacey Martin explains who should get a Tdap vaccination or booster to protect against pertussis. CDC Expert Commentary, July 2010 - Diphtheria symptoms/signs checklist [PDF-105KB, 2 pages]
Materials for Patients
- Vaccine Information Statement (VIS) (Td, DTaP, and Tdap)
- Informed consent for DAT [PDF-122KB, 7 pages]
Investigative new drug - Stories of people who suffered or died from vaccine-preventable diseases
- Diphtheria: Questions and Answers [PDF-91KB, 3 pages]
Ready-to-print versions of one of the CDC-reviewed Q&A material located on IAC's Vaccine Information website (http://www.vaccineinformation.org) Dated Feb 2007 - Difteria - Las vacunas y las enfermedades que previenen (Spanish materials)
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Content last reviewed on February 7, 2011
Content Source: National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases