Diphtheria or Streptococcal Pharyngitis: A Case Report Highlighting the Diagnostic Dilemma in the Post-vaccination Era

Diphtheria is an acute, highly infectious, toxigenic, and vaccine-preventable disease that commonly affects children under 12 years of age. The incidences of diphtheria have significantly dropped due to vaccination with diphtheria, pertussis, tetani (DPT). Recently, there is an increasing trend in reports of diphtheria throughout the world and specifically from developing countries. According to a World Health Organization (WHO) report, more than 80% of the global diphtheria cases in the post-vaccination era were from India and Indonesia. This could probably be signaling its re-emergence, which may be attributed to several factors that include incomplete immunization. Pharyngitis caused by group A Streptococcus is most frequently seen in children and can be clinically similar in presentation to diphtheria. We share our experience of managing a case of an eight-year-old child, who was clinically suspected to be suffering from diphtheria.