Alarm bells ring as diphtheria claims 13 children

Just as Karachi grapples with a rise in HIV cases, another infectious disease has raised fresh alarm. Diphtheria has claimed the lives of 13 children at the Sindh Infectious Diseases Hospital (SIDH), Nipa, this year, underscoring growing concerns over vaccine-preventable diseases and prompting health experts to urge parents not to delay routine immunisation.

According to official data, 30 diphtheria cases have been reported at SIDH so far this year, of which 13 proved fatal.

National surveillance data shows that 308 suspected diphtheria cases were reported across Pakistan between January and June this year, with Sindh accounting for the highest number. Sindh has recorded 113 suspected cases so far, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 87 and Balochistan with 64. Punjab reported 35 suspected cases, Islamabad seven and Gilgit-Baltistan two.

Health experts say diphtheria is a highly contagious disease that spreads from one child to another. Early symptoms include swollen glands in the throat and the formation of a grey membrane in the throat, while patients may also develop high fever, severe sore throat and difficulty breathing.

They warned that dismissing the symptoms as minor could prove fatal and stressed that children showing signs of the disease should be taken to a healthcare facility without delay.

Experts said diphtheria poses a particularly serious risk to young children but is entirely preventable through timely vaccination. Ensuring children receive vaccines according to the recommended schedule protects them not only against diphtheria but also several other potentially life-threatening diseases.

Under the National Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI), children are vaccinated against tuberculosis (TB), polio, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), pneumonia, measles, rubella and other infectious diseases. Vaccines are administered in age-specific doses under a prescribed schedule to build effective immunity against these illnesses.

Health professionals emphasised that immunisation is especially critical because infants and young children have underdeveloped immune systems, making them more vulnerable to infectious diseases. Timely vaccination not only protects individual children but also helps curb the spread of communicable diseases within communities.

They added that routine immunisation significantly reduces the risk of severe complications, disability and death associated with diphtheria, polio, measles, tetanus, whooping cough and other serious illnesses.

Health experts have appealed to parents to ensure their children complete the full vaccination course, stressing that immunisation, early diagnosis and prompt treatment can save young lives from diphtheria and several other preventable diseases.