Against diphtheria: After 10 deaths, health officials launch campaign

Child dies of animal anthrax in Bajaur Agency; livestock also affected by disease

PESHAWAR: Health concerns run rife in the Federal Administered Tribal Areas after diphtheria claimed the lives of 10 children in North Waziristan and South Waziristan agencies.

Meanwhile, health officials have slammed the authorities for failing to take timely action.

“I have been saying this for some time; we need bodies for people to take notice,” a senior health official at the FATA Secretariat told The Express Tribune. “Had the routine immunisation campaigns been carried out earlier, 10 lives could have been saved.”

Officials said the FATA Health Services director had been informed about suspected cases of diphtheria as a number of the displaced people, who left camps and returned to their villages, complained their children had fallen ill.

“The undersigned received a report of an unknown disease affecting Plangzai village in Miramshah from the political agent control room,” stated a letter addressed from the North Waziristan Agency surgeon to the FATA Health Services director in the provincial capital. The displaced population had recently been repatriated to the village.

The letter, sent on August 9, quoted deputed doctors as saying that a majority of complaints were of sore throat, fever and abdominal pain. It added 150 cases were reported. All patients were below 10 years of age. A copy of the document is available with The Express Tribune.

“Two children, who died recently in Bannu, and another one at Lady Reading Hospital (LRH), were diagnosed with diphtheria,” the letter stated.

In another letter issued from the same office, the North Waziristan Agency surgeon said steps were taken and all children in the area were vaccinated.

On Friday, FATA Health Services Director Dr Jawad Habib Khan ordered a routine expanded programme on immunisation campaign in North Waziristan and South Waziristan agencies in response to the diphtheria outbreak.

Vaccination plans

A statement, issued by the FATA Secretariat on Friday, stated fresh campaigns should ensure the vaccination of multi antigens. These include BCG, Penta, PCV-10, IPV and measles or vaccines for the routine immunisation schedule to preempt outbreaks of other diseases.

It was decided that in the first phase, a multi antigen vaccination campaign will be carried out in three rounds of 12 days and will be extended to all parts of North Waziristan and South Waziristan agencies. The second phase will involve a multi antigen vaccination campaign and will be expanded to surrounding areas such as Frontier Region Tank, FR DI Khan, FR Lakki Marwat and FR Bannu. Surveillance spots and mechanisms will also be established.

Earlier, health and nutrition specialists such as the Unicef immunisation officer, WHO K-P cluster head and EPI officer pledged full support and emphasised the need for a health monitoring and surveillance mechanism for effective vaccination.

An emergency meeting was called and decisions were taken to tackle the diphtheria outbreak in North Waziristan and South Waziristan on August 21 and August 25.

Cases reported

Diphtheria cases were reported in Miran Shah. Out of 15 suspected patients, six children died in North Waziristan and nine other suspected cases were being treated in various agency and district hospitals of the tribal areas and K-P.

Three deaths were confirmed from South Waziristan and five suspected cases were referred to a tertiary care hospital in Peshawar.

The armed forces also launched a case response campaign in North Waziristan and South Waziristan where 1,742 and 415 children have been vaccinated, respectively.

Anthrax outbreak

A child was killed due to animal anthrax in Mamond area of Bajaur Agency, while the region’s health department sent medical teams for vaccination against the said disease, agency surgeon Wazir Safi said while confirming the outbreak.

He added health officials have been informed about the outbreak and sent medical teams of experts to carry out vaccination.

Safi added an isolation ward was ordered at the agency hospital. The residents of Banda in Mamond, Sher Dil Khan and Muhammad Kareem, said they were infected by the disease. Sher Dil said one of his cows was slaughtered and they caught the ailment through the animal’s blood. Now, they are being treated and may need to go to Peshawar if proper medical care is not provided.

He added five animals and a child died of the disease in his area.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 27^th, 2016.