A serious case of the spread of diphtheria among children has been reported from the Deeg district of Rajasthan. So far, around seven children have lost life due to this in a month. Following this incident, the health department of the state and the World Health Organisation decided to investigate the matter. The officials reached the affected villages and initiated a vaccination drive for children to stop further spread.
Sunil Yadav, WHO Regional Coordinator, said to Local18 that this disease mainly affects children aged between 1 to 16 years. Even newborn babies also have the chance of getting affected by this disease. “Symptoms of diphtheria include throat swelling, fever, and coughing. If the disease is not treated in time, this disease can become severe. Vaccination is very important to stay away from diphtheria. The government conducts regular vaccination drives in every village to address this matter. There are many families to do not vaccinate their children. Due to a lack of awareness among people especially in the Mewat region, the vaccination rate is low, resulting in the spread of this deadly disease among children,” he added.
Chief Medical Health Officer (CMHO) of Deeg, Vijay Goyal said that seven children lost their lives due to this disease in the Kaman and Pahari areas of the Deeg district. One child is in critical condition and is presently admitted to a hospital in Jaipur. A medical team from Jaipur reached the district and held a meeting with the chief medical officer and local doctors about the situation. They reportedly discussed the deaths of children affected by diphtheria and also spoke about the need to increase vaccination efforts in the villages to prevent the spread of the disease. A special team has also been formed to investigate samples from suspected children to control the outbreak.
The medical team also pointed out that there is a lack of awareness in the villages, causing people to ignore vaccination. The health department has now started a door-to-door vaccination drive and is also working to raise awareness among the villagers. CMHO Vijay Goyal further stated that regular vaccination is very important to prevent diphtheria and the government is taking all required measures to address the issue. Villagers are being requested to vaccinate their children on time to protect them from the deadly disease.
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