How do you get diphtheria?

I was reading William Carlos Williams' short story, The Use of Force, and i was wondering how the little girl in the story got diphtheria. I know its caused by an acute infectious disease caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae and its highly contagious, but thats not the answer im looking for.

So basically, do you get it from being close to someone who has it, or like from sharing drinks, etc, etc?

Yes, you are partially right,
Diphtheria is transmitted from person to person via respiratory tract and secretions (nasal discharges). Rarely, transmission also occurs from the contact with the skin lesions and articles that are soiled with discharges from lesion.
Transmission may occur as long as the virulent bacteria present in the discharges and lesions.Without the treatment with an appropriate antibiotics, the bacilli persist for 2 weeks or less and seldom more than 4 weeks. Chronic carriers may shed the bacilli from their lesions even for 6 months.
Hope, this helps
Regards,

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