- Doctor at Children’s Hospital says all 35 million children given only three doses under Punjab’s EPI also vulnerable to diphtheria
After the deaths of more than 30 children in the province, the Punjab government has felt the need for increasing the dosage of diphtheria vaccination from three to four under its Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI), Pakistan Today has learnt.
Generally, five doses are given to a child from six weeks up to six years of age in developed countries. While the neighboring countries India and Bangladesh have successfully got rid of diphtheria, the resurgence of the epidemic in Pakistan’s largest province Punjab that claimed more than 30 innocent lives is terribly alarming.
All others 35 million children, given only three doses of the vaccine under Punjab’s Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI), are also vulnerable to diphtheria, according to Dr Saud Rana of the Children’s Hospital. He was of the view that the dose for children over 14 weeks of age must be increased.
The data available with Pakistan Today shows that more than 95 per cent of the children died were above the age of five and were under-immunised.
More than 20 such deaths have been reported in Children’s Hospital since October, whereas the number of deaths reported from other hospitals is being concealed by the health officials, said Dr Rana.
He recalled that when two patients of diphtheria were brought to the Children’s Hospital a few months back, not a single diphtheria antitoxin (DAT) injection was available with the hospital at the time. “I’m sure that the children are dying in other hospitals as well, but the cases are being reported only from Children’s Hospital and Faisalabad’s Allied Hospital as the leadership of Young Doctors’ Association (YDA) in both the hospitals hails from pediatrics – the branch of medicine that deals with infants and children,” he added.
Another doctor from Children’s Hospital, requesting anonymity, told this scribe that there were 2,000 DAT injections available with the hospital last year and 26 were used. He said the Finance Department had raised objections then and did not sanction even a single injection this year. He further said that these injections must be available at any given time since DAT could not be prepared on a short notice.
When contacted Punjab Health Director General Dr Amjad Shehzad said there was the shortage of DAT at times, but this shortage had been overcome and the stock was available in the province at present.
He was of the view that the Punjab government had put up a case before the National Health Council to increase the dose of vaccination under the Expanded Programme on Immunisation. He added that one dose would be given to a child during his school education as per the new programme. “Our teams are locating those areas where diphtheria cases emerged and have been providing adequate vaccination,” he added.
Meanwhile, Children’s Hospital Medical Director Dr Ahsan Waheed Rathore said that all 54 ventilators in the hospital were in working condition and reports about the deaths of children due to non-functional ventilators in the hospital was contrary to the facts.
He said that seven to eight hundred patients were brought to the emergency ward of the hospital daily and some of which were in critical condition and needed to be put on ventilators.
He said that 150 ambo bags were also available with the hospital for providing artificial respiration to the children. Rathore said that deaths of four children occurred due to seriousness of disease while two children were brought in a very serious condition and they died a short while after being hospitalised. He said the team of Punjab Healthcare Commission during inspection had expressed satisfaction over the treatment facilities being provided at the hospital.
