title: Cutaneous diphtheria in the urban poor population of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: a 10-year review.
abstract: Between 1998 and 2007, records from 33 patients with cutaneous diphtheria from Vancouver's inner city were reviewed. Cases were associated with injection drug use and poverty. Coinfections with Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, and Arcanobacterium haemolyticum occurred. Corynebacterium diphtheriae is endemic in Vancouver's urban core, with strains of multilocus sequence type (MLST) 76 predominating.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: C F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Lowe
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Bernard
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Romney
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D055667:Arcanobacterium / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001955:British Columbia / Q000453:epidemiology; D015897:Comorbidity; D003353:Corynebacterium diphtheriae / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004165:Diphtheria / Q000453:epidemiology*; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011203:Poverty; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D017192:Skin Diseases, Bacterial / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013297:Streptococcus pyogenes / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000150:complications; D055815:Young Adult