Prevention
Vaccination against diphtheria is commonly done in infants and delivered as a combination vaccine, such as a DPT vaccine (diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus). Pentavalent vaccines, which vaccinate against diphtheria and four other childhood diseases simultaneously, are frequently used in disease prevention programs in developing countries by organizations such as UNICEF. Treatment
The disease may remain manageable, but in more severe cases, lymph nodes in the neck may swell, and breathing and swallowing are more difficult. People in this stage should seek immediate medical attention, as obstruction in the throat may require intubation or a tracheotomy. Abnormal cardiac rhythms can occur early in the course of the illness or weeks later and can lead to heart failure. Diphtheria can also cause paralysis in the eye, neck, throat, or respiratory muscles. Patients with severe cases are put in a hospital intensive care unit and given diphtheria antitoxin (consisting of antibodies isolated from the serum of horses that have been challenged with diphtheria toxin). Since antitoxin does not neutralize toxin that is already bound to tissues, delaying its administration increases risk of death. Therefore, the decision to administer diphtheria antitoxin is based on clinical diagnosis, and should not await laboratory confirmation.Antibiotics have not been demonstrated to affect healing of local infection in diphtheria patients treated with antitoxin. Antibiotics are used in patients or carriers to eradicate C. diphtheriae and prevent its transmission to others.
Spanish flu or Spanish influenza, also known as purulent bronchitis, may refer to:

the 1918 flu pandemic where 500 million people worldwide were infected with H1N1 influenza A virus between 1918 and 1920, killing from 20 to 100 million people
the Influenza A virus subtype H1N1 which caused the influenza pandemic between 1918 and 1920, as well as the 2009 swine flu pandemic and 1977 Russian flu pandemic

See also

Flu (disambiguation)
Influenzavirus, the viruses that cause influenza disease
Influenza pandemic, "the influenza" global mass disease for a given year