Two children die of diphtheria

Neither of them had been vaccinated against the disease

LARKANA: Two children have reportedly died of diphtheria in Shahbaz Jageer village in Qambar-Shahdadkot district in February. Of the two cases, one death was reported on February 20 and the second on February 22.

Both the deceased children, Shahid, son of Baban Chandio, and eight-year-old Zebul, daughter of Sahib Khan Chandio, had reportedly not been vaccinated against the disease under the Expanded Immunisation Programme (EPI).

The deaths were confirmed by Qambar-Shahdadkot EPI focal person Dr Kashif Hussain Qureshi, who said that there was no health facility near the village where the deaths were reported. He further said that due to the lack of health facilities in the village, the residents were facing difficulties and had to travel all the way to Shahdadkot or Qubo Saeed Khan to get their children vaccinated. Qureshi added that the EPI division in the district had previously faced a shortage of staff but new appointments had been made and operations were now being carried out smoothly.

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According to the former district health officer of Qambar-Shahdadkot, Dr Khalilullah Shaikh, the vaccine for diphtheria is a combination of five other vaccines and is administered via intramuscular injection to children of ages 6 months, 10 months and 14 months.

Diphtheria is an infectious disease, most likely to be contracted by children below the age of five and adults over the age of 60. It can cause airway blockages, cardiovascular damage, nerve inflammation, paralysis, lung infection and, in some cases, can lead to death. One death is reported among every 10 patients undergoing treatment for diphtheria, while in untreated patients, the mortality rate is 50 per cent.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 29^th, 2020.