AbstracDiphtheria is a highly communicable bacterial disease. It is a severe and sometimes fatal disease caused by toxin producing strain of Corynebacterium diphtheria also known as Klebs-Loeffler bacilli. The disease mainly involve tonsillar, pharyngeal, laryngeal, nasal, otitic and conjunctival mucosa. Respiratory diphtheria is characterised by infection involving the tonsil(s), pharynx and/or larynx, low-grade fever with or without an asymmetrical greyish-white adherent membrane of the tonsil(s), pharynx and/or nose. Route of entry is respiratory tract. After mass vaccination program against diphtheria have been established, the disease became very rare, now a days. A 6year old male child presented with low-grade fever for 6 days, painful swallowing for 6 days and swelling of neck glands in department of ENT, Silchar Medical College and Hospital. On examination, dirty white membrane on both of tonsils and posterior pharyngeal membrane seen. Throat swab from the membrane shows presence of Klebs-Loeffler like bacilli in direct staining. The specimen is further plated in blood agar and tellurite blood agar medium and Corynebacterium diphtheria bacilli are isolated. Patient was started on intravenous antibiotic therapy and referred to Calcutta Medical College and hospital, West Bengal, for administration of antidiphtheritic serum (ADS). Following ADS and antibiotic administration, the patient recovered fully.

Keywords: Corynebacterium diphtheria, Respiratory diphtheria, Dirty-white membrane, Antidiphtheritic serum.