With one more death of a child reported due to deadly diphtheria disease at North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NMC)-run Maharishi Valmiki Infectious Diseases Hospital in Kingsway Camp, the total toll has reached 21.
Following it, Dr Sanjeev Kumar Gupta, the medical superintendent (MS) of Maharishi Valmiki Infectious Diseases Hospital in North Delhi was “suspended” by Mayor of north Delhi Adesh Gupta on Wednesday for his glaring lapses in the deaths .
The Mayor said the death of young children due to the non-availability of medicines that 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.
According to the civic body, a total of 173 children were admitted to the hospital in September alone with complaints of infectious diphtheria disease in which 21 died allegedly due to non-availability of diphtheria antitoxin (serum). Last week, a team of World Health Organisation also visited the hospital to take the stock of the situation.
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.
However, senior Congress leader in the NMC, Mukesh Goyal has demanded detailed discussion on the matter in a meeting of next standing committee.
He also demanded Mayor’s resignation, saying such incidents describe the negligent and dodgy way of working for the corporation and cannot be ignored at any cost.
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.