A patient with the following feature shown in the image. The patient reports having another 3-year-old sibling at home, who is fully immunized as per the immunization schedule. What is the best measure to prevent diphtheria in the sibling of the diphtheria case child.
Diphtheria is a bacterial infection caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae. It is preventable through vaccination, specifically the DPT (Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus) vaccine. In the given context, the sibling of the child with diphtheria is fully immunized as per the immunization schedule, which implies that the child has received all required doses of the DPT vaccine according to age guidelines.
When faced with a diphtheria case in a household, it is crucial to assess the immunization status of other household members, especially young children. The goal is to ensure they have completed their scheduled immunizations. Based on the information provided, the 3-year-old sibling is up-to-date with vaccinations. Under these circumstances:
If the sibling is current with vaccinations, no additional booster or intervention is necessary because they are considered protected against diphtheria.
The option of administering prophylactic erythromycin would be considered if there were close exposure and an incomplete immunization record, which isn't the case here.
Therefore, the correct choice in this scenario, given the fully immunized status of the sibling, is to do nothing further to prevent diphtheria.
