Hi there and thank you for the question. Based on your description, the doctor or hospital management I presume they wanted to treat the tonsillitis first before taking into consideration of diphtheria infection. Because tonsillitis is often can be treated without any medical treatments needed apart from rest, taking a lot of fluids and eating healthy. However the diphtheria infection is a serious infection that can affect our life.

The infection is caused by a type of bacteria called as Corynebacterium diphtheria causes infection of diphtheria. The condition is typically transmit through when a person contacts another person or through contact with things that have the bacteria on them, for example such as a cup or tissue paper. You can also get diphtheria infection if you are around an infected patient when they cough, sneeze, or blow their nose.

Even if an infected person does not show any signs or symptoms of diphtheria infection, they are still able to spread the bacterial infection for up to 6 weeks after the first infection. The diphtheria infection most commonly will stay on your nose and throat. Once you are getting infected, the bacteria produces dangerous substances named toxins.

The toxins spread through your bloodstream and often can cause a thick, grey colour coating to form in organ such as your nose, tongue, throat and airways system. In some cases, these toxins produced by the bacteria can also damage other organs for example the heart, kidneys, and brain. Thus, it can lead to potentially life threatening complications, such as paralysis of the muscles or weakness of the muscle, heart problems or myocarditis and kidney failure.