Household transmission of non-toxigenic diphtheria toxin gene-bearing following a cluster of cutaneous cases in a specialist outpatient setting.

Combination of PCR and Elek testing to identify toxigenic corynebacteria has revealed organisms described as non-toxigenic toxin-gene bearing (NTTB) or (i.e. PCR positive; Elek negative).

Detection of Diabetes by Macrovascular Tortuosity of Superior Bulbar Conjunctiva.

More than 8% of world population have diabetes which causes long term complications such as retinopathy, neuropathy, nephropathy and foot ulcers. Growing patient numbers has prompted large scale screening methods to detect early symptoms of diabetes (rather than elevated blood glucose levels which is a late symptom). Vascular tortuosity (twisted and curved nature of blood vessels) in retinal fundus images has proven to reflect the effect of diabetes on macrovasculature.

Development, validation and implementation of a quadruplex real-time PCR assay for identification of potentially toxigenic corynebacteria.

Toxigenic corynebacteria are uncommon in the UK; however, laboratory confirmation by the national reference laboratory can inform public health action according to national guidelines. Standard phenotypic tests for identification and toxin expression of isolates can take from ≥24 to ≥48 h from receipt. To decrease the time to result, a real-time PCR (qPCR) assay was developed for confirmation of both identification of Corynebacterium diphtheriae and Corynebacterium ulcerans/Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis and detection of the diphtheria toxin gene.

Molecular and epidemiological review of toxigenic diphtheria infections in England between 2007 and 2013.

Human infections caused by toxigenic corynebacteria occur sporadically across Europe. In this report, we undertook the epidemiological and molecular characterization of all toxigenic corynebacterium strains isolated in England between January 2007 and December 2013. Epidemiological aspects include case demographics, risk factors, clinical presentation, treatment, and outcome.

External quality assessments for microbiologic diagnosis of diphtheria in Europe.

The European Diphtheria Surveillance Network (EDSN) ensures the reliable epidemiological and microbiologic assessment of disease prevalence in the European Union. Here, we describe a survey of current diagnostic techniques for diphtheria surveillance conducted across the European Union and report the results from three external quality assessment (EQA) schemes performed between 2010 and 2014.