A serious infectious disease that affects the throat and can cause breathing problems, now rare due to vaccines.
From Greek 'diphthera' (leather) because the disease creates a tough, leathery membrane in the throat. The word was named in the 1600s by doctors who noticed this distinctive symptom.
Diphtheria killed hundreds of thousands before the vaccine was developed—the 'diphtheria toxin' was actually the first bacterial toxin scientists ever identified, which helped launch the entire field of toxicology!
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