Deadly disease: Child diagnosed with diphtheria

FAISALABAD: A seven-year-old girl was diagnosed with diphtheria at the Allied Hospital on Saturday. Two weeks ago, a four-year-old boy had died of diphtheria at the same hospital. Fida Asif, 7, daughter of Muhammad Asif, a resident of Jameel Town in Ghulam Muhammad Abad, had complained of severe throat ache and was brought to Allied Hospital on Friday. The doctors diagnosed her with diphtheria on Saturday and admitted her to the hospital for treatment. Dr Masooma Sardar, focal person for the case, told The Express Tribune that Fida Asif was brought to the hospital after complaining about severe pain in her throat. She said the doctors at the hospital had diagnosed her with diphtheria but they had sent blood samples to the National Institute of Health in Islamabad to confirm the diagnosis. “We have not received the reports yet,” she said. On December 20, four-year-old Zahid Rasool, son of Faiz Rasool, a resident of Nawab Pura in Pindi Bhattian, was brought to Allied Hospital where he was diagnosed with diphtheria. He was treated for the disease but he died on January 2.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 18^th, 2016.