Student treated for disease that fewer than 5 contract per year

On Thursday, junior Tony Berger had a severe sore throat. On Friday, he had a sore throat and a fever. On Saturday, he was hospitalized and informed that he could be suffering from diphtheria, a rare infectious disease. \nProduced by a bacterial toxin enzyme, diphtheria takes the form of a respiratory illness, and fewer than five cases a year are reported in the U.S., said Vickie VanDeventer, the infection control practitioner at Bloomington Hospital.\nWhen he first arrived at Bloomington Hospital on Saturday, Berger was tested for mononucleosis and strep throat, but both tests were negative. Berger said the doctor then gave him a prescription and told him it would make him feel better, but he did not know his diagnosis until a nurse told him he was being treated as a diphtheria patient. \n“I don’t really know 100 percent if I have it, but the doctor thought I had it, gave me some antibiotics and sent me on my way,” Berger said.\nBerger was discharged from the hospital with little information about the disease, he said, so he looked to the Internet for help.\n“I came home, Googled it and thought, ‘Hmm, I don’t know how I feel about this,’” Berger said.\nBerger said the nurse told him to return for a follow-up appointment with a doctor or at the IU Health Center today.\nVanDeventer oversees the prevention and control of diseases such as diphtheria. VanDeventer has never seen a case of diphtheria but said the disease is maintainable and treatable at the hospital. \n“In our emergency department, as people come in, their different complaints are noted. So, if we have an increase in, for example, respiratory problems, I’ll note that unusual increase in symptoms,” VanDeventer said. “We determine isolation if necessary, however our staff has normally already implemented that.”\nBloomington Hospital follows Center for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and informs the Department of Health and Human Services if a case of an infectious disease is diagnosed. Diphtheria is spread by direct person-to-person transmission from physical contact, VanDeventer said. \n“We make sure (patients) are getting the treatment they need while we also follow the communicable disease rule of reporting to the health department,” VanDeventer said. “The health department, as well as IU, immediately follow through. It’s a big follow-through loop where a bunch of people are doing their job and somehow it comes together.”\nTypically for infectious disease cases, the patient is put in a private room with the health care worker wearing gloves and if necessary, a mask, VanDeventer said. This was not the case with Berger, however, as he was not kept in isolation because it was unclear what \nhe had.\nIU policy requires all incoming students to verify that they have received the diphtheria vaccine as a child and a Td booster shot within the last 10 years. \n“Students who do not provide the required immunization data will be prevented from registering for the semester or session following their matriculation semester. They will continue to be prohibited from registration until they are compliant,” said Bart Quinet, Assistant Registrar and Manager of Record Services at the Office of the Registrar.\nBerger received his Td booster shot midway through his freshman fall semester and said that because he had his vaccines, he is not certain where he contracted the illness, but that perhaps his vaccine was not \nproperly administered. \nWhile few cases are reported in the U.S., the history of diphtheria in developing and developed countries has been chronicled by such outbreaks as the most recent one in countries of the former Soviet Union. One hundred-fifty thousand cases were reported in an epidemic which began in 1990, VanDeventer said. \nBerger said diphtheria is “most definitely contagious,” however, from what he knows, it is mostly contagious when a person still has a high fever and is not on antibiotics. Because he is taking antibiotics and no longer has a fever, Berger attended a few of his classes on Monday. He still suffers from a sore throat and is not able to eat solid foods, but is no longer feverish. \nVanDeventer said following basic hygiene rules helps prevent the spread of \ninfectious disease. \n“I think our general rule of thumb is if we could just follow general rules every day then outbreaks would be less. I always say it’s the stuff our moms taught us: wash your hands, cover your mouth when you cough,” VanDeventer said. “That is a really good start to not getting and spreading any kind of illness.”