Diphtheria spreads its tentacles to Mewat, claims 10 kids in two weeks

Gurugram: In addition to the national Capital, Gurugram too is now bearing the brunt of diphtheria, where a couple of cases of the bacterial disease have been reported this week.

However, the worse affected area is Mewat, located 30 km from the city. In just two weeks, ten children below the age of ten have died of the disease.

Doctors claimed the youngest patient to have fallen to the disease was only two years old.

So far, thirty suspected cases have been reported in Gurugram, which has raised the fear of more confirmed cases.

Since September, over 100 cases of diphtheria have been reported from the district.

Taking cognisance of the situation, Haryana Health Minister Anil Vj assured people that all preventive steps will be taken to tackle the disease, which is spreading across areas of Mewat, Gurugram and Bhiwani. The government has also started a vaccination drive in the area.

Just like Delhi, Mewat also is facing a crisis due to shortage of vaccines. Doctors at Mewat Government hospital concede that diphtheria is proving to be a major health challenge in the region. However, they pointed out that the disease could not be the sole cause of the deaths.

"It will be wrong to assume that the spate of child deaths is only due to diphtheria. There are other health complications which most of the children possessed that resulted in their death," said Dr Lokbir Singh, deputy civil surgeon, Mewat government hospital.

"Diphtheria is a bacterial disease and its common symptoms include, sore throat, fever, cough, running nose, swelling in the neck, fall in blood pressure and irregular pulse," said a senior doctor at Gurugram Civil Hospital.

"If the toxin reaches heart muscles or larynx or voice box or nervous system, the anti-diphtheria serum proves ineffective and that is also proving to be a cause of death. August, September, and October are the peak months for contracting the disease," he added.

Even as the number of incidents of diphtheria has reduced globally, in India the disease continues to affect a large number of patients.