Diphtheria, on Friday, claimed lives of two more children admitted in Maharishi Valmiki Infectious Diseases Hospital in Kingsway Camp taking the total toll in September to 23.
“The patients were brought in advanced stage. Most of the deaths that we have seen till now were brought in advanced stage. In these cases, treatment doesn’t work,” said a senior official of North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NMC).
The two children who died on Friday belonged to Delhi. Out of 23 deaths in September, 5 children were from Delhi while the remaining 18 belonged to other States. Shockingly, death of a child due to diphtheria at the NMC run hospital was recorded on Thursday as well.
This year, a total of 183 patients have been admitted to the hospital out of which 51 have been declared dead.
Concerned over the issue, NMC on Tuesday suspended the Medical Superintendent (MS) of the hospital over non-availability of essential medicines including diphtheria antitoxin (serum) in the hospital.
North Delhi Mayor Adesh Gupta had said the death of young children due to non-availability of medicines is a sheer negligence.
“The MS has been suspended due to this negligence and carelessness and a new MS has already been appointed,” he said. New MS was appointed immediately to ensure smooth working in the hospital, the Mayor added.
Hospital administration in a statement issued last week stated that children were admitted in very advanced stages and did not respond to the treatment.
Most of them were not vaccinated for diphtheria, it said. The North Delhi Mayor Adesh Gupta had also formed a high-level enquiry committee under the chairmanship of the Additional Commissioner (Health) to ascertain the cause of deaths.
The diphtheria toxin causes a membrane of dead tissue to build up over the throat and tonsils, making breathing and swallowing difficult.
The disease is spread through direct physical contact or from breathing in the aerosolised secretions from coughs or sneezes of infected individuals.
