After dengue, K-P fears diphtheria

Health officials call for vaccination campaign to prevent spread of disease

PESHAWAR: As the toll from the ongoing outbreak of the dengue virus rises to 41, another serious threat has emerged for the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government after 33 cases of diphtheria were reported from the federally administration tribal areas (Fata).

Diphtheria is an acute contagious infection caused by the bacterium Corynebacterium diphtheria. It is marked by the formation of a false membrane in the throat and other air passages causing difficulty in breathing and can be fatal unless treated. Vaccination helps reduce the incidence of the disease.

Since Fata lacks health institutions to deal with such outbreaks, patients are ultimately brought to facilities in Bannu. But with frequent movement of people between tribal areas and K-P, the authorities fear that the outbreak may spread to districts situated close to the affected areas.

Officials from the Fata secretariat stated that many dengue cases had been reported from Frontier Region Kohat and Khyber Agency. On the other hand, diphtheria cases have also surfaced in Frontier Region Bannu and in the North Waziristan Agency and almost all the patients from these areas have been shifted to the settled areas.

“Yes, people in Fata have no other option but to take patients with such complications to Bannu and the provincial capital (Peshawar) at the same time,” a senior Fata health official said, adding that the “K-P government provided precautionary vaccines to the Fata health department and have told Fata authorities to launch an anti-diphtheria vaccination campaign”.

Dr Asghar Khan, a technical officer at the Diseases Surveillance and Response Unit for Fata, stated that eight diphtheria cases were reported since August 30 while 18 cases have been confirmed from FR Bannu so far in 2017.

He added that four cases were reported from North Waziristan Agency last week while a total of 15 cases have been confirmed from the agency in 2017. Most of these cases were traced to the Tehsil of Mir Ali – a former stronghold of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). He added that at least one child, from FR Bannu, has lost his life to the disease.

K-P health officials have already told the Fata health officials to immediately respond to the cases to prevent the outbreak from spreading to K-P.

“We know that Fata does not have specialised healthcare and such patients seek care in adjoining districts and the provincial capital,” read a letter from K-P Expanded Programme on Immunization. The letter was addressed to the Fata Health Services Director-General Dr Jawad Habib.

The letter, a copy of which is available with The Express Tribune, read that frequent movement between Fata and settled areas posed a potential threat to the bordering district ‘and we fear that we may have an outbreak in the neighbouring districts.’

It asked the Fata health authorities to develop proper case response plan, circulate diphtheria case management to all hospitals in Fata, and improve routine immunisation besides developing a plan for procurement of vaccines.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 3^rd, 2017.