Diphtheria: What Exactly Is It ... And Why Is It Back?

In the first century, a doctor called Aretaeus of Cappadocia described the rotting smell of "Egyptian ulcers." Ancient Chinese medical literature mentions a disease called "children-killing carbuncle." In 17th century Spain there were references to an illness known as "the strangler."

They were talking about diphtheria, a highly infectious respiratory disease that colonizes a person's nose and throat, creating a thick layer of dead cells that can block the airway. It has always had a reputation for sickening children.

With the introduction of a highly effective vaccine in the 1920s and early '30s, diphtheria faded away in much of the world. Today it's largely considered a disease of the past. But now a shipment of antitoxins to Bangladesh this weekend, after six deaths in a Rohingya refugee settlement. The organization did last week for Yemen, where at least 30 have died of the bacterial infection, many of them children.