Diphtheria in Padua, young man hospitalized in serious condition: prophylaxis for one hundred contacts

A young man from Bangladesh is hospitalized in serious condition for diphtheria at the University Hospital of Padua. While treatment continues in the infectious diseases department, where the patient is in isolation, prophylaxis has been started for one hundred people who came into contact with him, including people he met in the workplace.

The suspected diagnosis dates back to Saturday 10 October. The doctors of the unit directed by Annamaria Cattelan immediately activated the procedure to obtain the anti-toxic serum through the Poison Control Center of Pavia. The treatment was administered on the same day, without waiting for the results of the tests. The microbiological confirmation arrived on Sunday 11 October from the Microbiology and Virology of the Padua hospital. The young man also receives antibiotic therapy and remains under monitoring.

On the prevention front, according to what Telenuovo reports, Ulss 6 Euganea has started a week-long antibiotic prophylaxis for the hundred contacts. Checks are also underway on their vaccination status. The number of people involved indicates the extent of the preventive intervention: it is not equivalent to one hundred cases of illness.

Timely treatment is essential. As the Higher Institute of Health explains, the antitoxin neutralizes the toxin still present in the blood, but not the one already bound to the tissues. For this reason, in suspected cases of respiratory diphtheria, treatment must begin before laboratory confirmation. The toxin can cause damage to the heart, nervous system and kidneys; in respiratory forms, the membranes that develop in the throat can obstruct the passage of air.

The Padua case comes after other reports in Italy. In the update published on October 8, the ISS recorded three cases in August 2026, including a fatal respiratory form in an unvaccinated girl, and a further cutaneous case in September. These are data from before the hospitalization in Padua.

Vaccination remains the main prevention tool. In adults, a booster every ten years is recommended. Protection from severe forms, specifies the ISS, does not necessarily exclude the possibility of hosting and transmitting the bacterium: isolation, contact tracing and prophylaxis therefore remain essential to contain the infection.