In a shocking case that yet again highlights the poor state of healthcare system in the country, 12 children died in last 14 days at Delhi government’s Maharishi Valmiki Infectious Disease Hospital.
All patients were aged 6-12 years with a diagnosis of severe infection of Diphtheria.
The upper respiratory tract bacterial infection with high mortality rate can be prevented with timely vaccination. The infection is covered under India’s universal immunization programme.
Located in North Delhi, Maharishi Valmiki Hospital is north India’s biggest institute for treatment of communicable diseases. Ironically, the hospital does not have the stock of Diphtheria vaccination, which costs around Rs 10,000 in the market.
All children were from outside Delhi and were referred to the hospital for the treatment. At present, there are roughly 300 Diphtheria patients admitted in the hospital. The deaths were reported between the period of September 6 and September 19.
A man who came all the way from Saharanpur said that he was forced to take his daughter to some other place as there was no treatment available at the hospital.
Asked about the status of the Diphtheria medicine stocks, hospital administration said that the root cause is poor immunization in various parts of the country. They said that Diphtheria outbreak is common during post-Monsoon period. The problem aggravates as many children are not immunized at right time. Such kids, when infected, are at greater risk. So, even if they are administered the drug later, it won’t have any positive impact on the child’s health.
An official also said that the drugs are out of stock due to problem in supply chain that originates from Himachal Pradesh’s Kasauli. The hospital buys its stock from Kausali, where the drug is produced from the blood of horses. The production has been stopped for some time now, impacting the supply chain.
The World Health Organization has said that in countries endemic for Diphtheria such as India, the disease occurs mostly as sporadic cases or in small outbreaks. Diphtheria is fatal in 5 - 10% of cases, with a higher mortality rate in young children. Treatment involves administering diphtheria antitoxin to neutralize the effects of the toxin, as well as antibiotics to kill the bacteria.
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