Toxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae Infection in Cat, Texas, USA

Abstract

We report a toxigenic strain of Corynebacterium diphtheriae isolated from an oozing dermal wound in a pet cat in Texas, USA. We also describe the epidemiologic public health efforts conducted to identify potential sources of infection and mitigate its spread and the molecular and genetic studies performed to identify the bacterium.

Keywords

• toxigenic diphtheria
• Corynebacterium diphtheriae
• C. diphtheriae
• domestic cat
• cat diphtheria
• Texas