Zoonotic Transmission of Diphtheria from Domestic Animal Reservoir, Spain

Abstract

Toxigenic Corynebacterium ulcerans is as an emerging zoonotic agent of diphtheria. We describe the zoonotic transmission of diphtheria caused by toxigenic C. ulcerans from domestic animals in Spain, confirmed by core-genome multilocus sequence typing. Alongside an increasing number of recent publications, our findings highlight the public health threat posed by diphtheria reemergence.

Keywords

• diphtheria
• zoonoses
• bacteria
• bacterial infections
• Corynebacterium ulcerans
• Spain