Fatal Respiratory Diphtheria in a U.S. Traveler to Haiti—Pennsylvania, 2003

Respiratory diphtheria can be severe or fatal in unvaccinated persons; even with appropriate treatment, 5%-10% of patients with diphtheria die. Persons who are unvaccinated or vaccinated inadequately can contract diphtheria during travel to areas where the disease is endemic, putting them and their close contacts at risk for severe illness. Lurie et al describe the fatal respiratory diphtheria in an unvaccinated Pennsylvania resident who had visited Haiti, a country where the disease is endemic.