Key points
- ÐÇ¿ÕÓéÀÖ¹ÙÍø tracks diphtheria cases using a national surveillance system.
- ÐÇ¿ÕÓéÀÖ¹ÙÍø also identifies cases by requests for diphtheria antitoxin (DAT).
- Diphtheria is now an uncommon disease in the United States.
Data systems
National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System
Diphtheria is a nationally notifiable disease.
ÐÇ¿ÕÓéÀÖ¹ÙÍø collects national information about diphtheria cases through the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS). ÐÇ¿ÕÓéÀÖ¹ÙÍø receives NNDSS data each week.
Tracking DAT requests
ÐÇ¿ÕÓéÀÖ¹ÙÍø also identifies cases by DAT requests. Since 1997, DAT is available for U.S. healthcare providers only through ÐÇ¿ÕÓéÀÖ¹ÙÍø.
How the data are interpreted
Disease trends
Diphtheria used to be one of the most common causes of illness and death among children. In the United States, diphtheria antitoxin was introduced in the 1920s and 1930s. Universal childhood vaccination began in the 1940s.
Now diphtheria is well controlled. The last U.S. case of confirmed respiratory diphtheria was in 1997. A small number of cutaneous cases associated with international travel have been reported since then.
