Question

1. With the fall of the former Soviet Union, diphtheria made a strong comeback. Devise an explanation for why this occurred. How might this apply to the US under current healthcare conditions?

Answer 1

Diphtheria in the former Soviet Union: reemergence of a pandemic disease. ... The massive reemergence of diphtheria in the Newly Independent States of the former Soviet Union marked the first large-scale diphtheria epidemic in industrialized countries in 3 decades.

The primary underlying causes of the epidemic are thought to include (1) low levels of immunity in the population due to lack of receipt of a complete childhood vaccination series of five doses of diphtheria toxoid-containing vaccine and a lack of routine administration of booster doses to adults.

Starting in the 1920s, diphtheria rates dropped quickly in the United States and other countries with the widespread use of vaccines. In the past decade, there were less than five cases of diphtheria in the United States reported to CDC. However, the disease continues to cause illness globally.