After a long line of health crises apparently tackled “efficiently” by the Punjab government, the province is facing an outbreak of Diphtheria, a deadly contagious respiratory disease,
Pakistan Today has learnt.
At least 24 cases of the upper respiratory tract illness have been reported across the province so far, blowing the lid off the incompetence of the Punjab government in managing health crisis.
At least three out of these 24 cases have been reported in Lahore. All three cases have been reported among minors, two of whom have already died.
Communicable Disease Cell (CDC) in-charge Dr Malik Mubasher however denied the number of cases saying only 13 cases have appeared so far, with six deaths over a period of six months in the entire province.
Health experts believe that Diphtheria is a communicable disease and can turn into an epidemic putting lives of the children in Punjab at an obvious risk.
“It spreads through droplet infection: sneezing and coughing,” a female doctor from Children’s Hospital told Pakistan Today.
Among the three patients is 12-year-old Babar Ghafoor who has been put in an isolated ward because of his condition.
“The child is under distress,” said the on-duty female doctor while going through his medical record.
Medical experts told Pakistan Today that corny bacterium Diphtheria is the causative bacteria in which a pseudo membrane appears on the respiratory tract causing suffocation, laboured breathing and resulting in death. “Usually it appears in children between five and 11 years of age who have not been vaccinated,” a medical expert said.
Interestingly, Diphtheria is not dengue and can be prevented through vaccination which the federal and provincial governments ensure spending billions on the Expanded Program of Immunization (EPI) getting hefty amounts from international donors as well.
According to the government records, the federal government alone allocated around Rs 1,195 million with Rs 100 million allocated by the Punjab government to ensure that children get the Diphtheria-Pertusis-Tetanus (DPT) dose in the province.
An official on the condition of anonymity said, “The routine immunization process is very poor which causes such diseases.”