Human infections with Corynebacterium diphtheriae species complex (CdSC) bacteria were rare in French Guiana until 2016, when the number of cases diagnosed increased. We conducted an epidemiologic, multicenter, retrospective study of all human CdSC infections diagnosed in French Guiana during January 1, 2016–December 31, 2021. A total of 64 infectious episodes were observed in 60 patients; 61 infections were caused by C. diphtheriae and 3 by C. ulcerans. Estimated incidence increased from 0.7 cases/100,000 population in 2016 to 7.7 cases/100,000 population in 2021. The mean patient age was 30.4 (+23.7) years, and male-to-female ratio was 1.7:1 (38/22). Of the 61 C. diphtheriae isolates, 5 tested positive for the diphtheria toxin gene, and all results were negative by Elek test; 95% (61/64) of cases were cutaneous, including the C. ulcerans cases. The increase in reported human infections underscores the need to raise awareness among frontline healthcare practitioners to improve prevention.

在法属圭亚那，人类感染白喉棒状杆菌复合体 (CdSC) 的情况很少见，直到 2016 年诊断病例数量有所增加。我们对2016年1月1日至2021年12月31日期间在法属圭亚那诊断的所有人类CdSC感染进行了流行病学、多中心、回顾性研究。在60名患者中总共观察到64次感染发作； 61 例感染由白喉杆菌引起，3 例由白喉杆菌引起。溃疡病。估计发病率从2016年的0.7例/10万人口增加到2021年的7.7例/10万人口。患者平均年龄为30.4( ± 23.7)岁，男女比例为1.7:1(38/22)。 61株白喉杆菌中，5株白喉毒素基因呈阳性，Elek检测结果均为阴性； 95% (61/64) 的病例是皮肤病例，包括溃疡梭菌病例。报告的人类感染病例的增加凸显出需要提高一线医疗保健从业人员的认识以改善预防。