One more diphtheria death reported in Delhi, toll now 26

One more death due to diphtheria was reported at a civic hospital in north Delhi, taking the toll from the infection in the national Capital over the last month to 26, officials said on Sunday.

Over the last month, a total of 25 children have died due to diphtheria at North Delhi Municipal Corporation-run Maharishi Valmiki Infectious Diseases (MVID) Hospital, while one child died at the state-run Lok Nayak Hospital. Doctors said all these children were below the age of nine years.

Officials familiar with the cases said doctors found that the hearts, kidneys and nervous systems of children were not functioning properly when they were brought to the hospital.

“The problem is that parents often misunderstand the disease as usual cough and cold and take medicines from a physician. Since the child has not been given diphtheria shots, with the passage of time, the toxin released from the bacteria starts hampering the functioning of kidney, heart and nervous system,” said Dr Arun Yadav, director, hospital administration, North Delhi Municipal Corporation.

During the civic body’s house meeting last week, councillors said the primary reason for the rapidly increasing deaths was the delay in the procurement of life-saving diphtheria anti-toxins at MVID Hospital.

Doctors at MVID Hospitals, meanwhile, said, “Lack of vaccination, partial vaccination, delay in proper treatment, misinformation and illiteracy are among the main reasons responsible for the increasing number of cases.”

Delay in treatment

Doctors said that one thing common in most cases was that patients were coming in 7-8 days after showing symptoms, by which time toxins had already affected their heart and nerves. “The anti-diphtheria serum does not work after that. If the child gets the anti-diphtheria serum in the first 3-4 days, then situation can easily be controlled. But after 7-8 days, the patient’s condition becomes critical,” said Yadav.

Incomplete vaccination

Officials said that in several cases parents claimed their children had been immunised. A senior doctor said that these children got infected as they were not “fully immunised”. “They must not have completed the course of vaccines. Also, during the rainy season, bacteria grow at a rapid speed which results in an increase in number of cases,” doctors said.

Rapid spread

Unlike other diseases, diphtheria is highly contagious and spreads easily from one child to another, doctors said. “If an infected child sneezes and micro-droplets of his sputum fall on any surface, they can infect other children that come in contact with them,” said Yadav.

Officials from North MCD said most of the children who have died hail from western Uttar Pradesh, especially in and around Muzaffarnagar district, and parts of Haryana. “Most of these kids come from the same region. It means there is a common trend somewhere. Most of the families said the children were not administered the vaccination. Last year, after getting similar cases from this region, we had written to the government to spread awareness there,” a doctor at the MVIDS Hospital said.

“The main concern is why were these children were not immunised. Under the Central government’s Universal Immunisation Programme, all children below one year of age are supposed to get three doses of the Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis [DTP] vaccine, followed by two booster doses between 1-2 years and 5-6 years. This clearly did not happen,” said Dr DK Seth, a physician, who is also a consultant for the civic body.

Seth added that the families of children who exhibit symptoms, especially in regions where deaths are being reported, must consult a doctor at the earliest. “If a doctor checks the patient’s tonsil carefully then they should be able to see a white membrane, which is the diphtheria bacteria. It can be diagnosed easily,” he added.