After three children of a same family were diagnosed with diphtheria and admitted to the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital (MGMGH) in the City, the Public Health department has launched a vaccination drive in a five- km radius around their residence, targeting children in schools and anganwadis.
Speaking to The Hindu , M. S. Vignesh, District Epidemiologist, said that the three children were diagnosed with diphtheria and were undergoing treatment at an isolation ward at the MGMGH. Significantly, their mother died within hours of being admitted to the hospital on Thursday.
She had fever and was experiencing difficulty in swallowing. However, the exact cause of her death will be known only after getting the post mortem report, the official said.
The children’s condition was said to be stable.
Meanwhile, a vaccination drive has been launched and the condition could easily be prevented through immunisation, Mr. Vignesh said.
“A total of 67 schools in and around Teppakulam, East Boulevard Road and Beerangikula Street have been identified within the five km radius around the affected patients’ home and a drive to vaccinate nearly 30,000 students has been launched,” Mr. Vignesh said. Anganwadis in these areas would also be covered. All 67 schools will be covered within a span of 15 days, which is the incubation period of the infection, he added.
City Health Centres in these areas too will be administering the Tetanus-Diphtheria (Td) vaccine, Mr. Vignesh said. “In case residents are worried and want to get vaccinated, they can approach their nearby PHC”, he added.
On Thursday, a minor incident at a private school in Singarathope caused commotion as students were administered the vaccine apparently without informing the parents. Some of the parents gathered at the school and protested.
“Since an extended weekend holiday was coming up and students will be travelling during the time, we rushed to vaccinate them,” said an official of the health department.
A. Subramani, Deputy Director of Health Services, Tiruchi, said there was no need for any panic though he observed that lack of awareness could prevent people from getting vaccinated. Diphtheria is a bacterial infection which affects the throat. “Symptoms are sore throat, fever, swollen glands and a whitish membrane that forms inside the throat causing obstruction in breathing and swallowing,” he said. However, because the symptoms are similar to a common cold or viral fever, it is often ignored.
Urging parents to follow the norms laid down by the national immunisation schedule, Mr. Subramani said that if parents followed the booklet provided by the Department of Family Health and Welfare, nothing else is required.
