147 kids were admitted to NMC hospital with severe infection
With four more deaths of children on Sunday due to deadly diphtheria disease at North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NMC)-run Maharishi Valmiki Infectious Diseases Hospital in Kingsway Camp, the toll has reached 18.
A total of 147 children were admitted to the hospital till Sunday with complaints of infectious diphtheria disease. Of them 18 have died due to non-availability of diphtheria antitoxin (serum).
A red-faced senior NMC official rued lack 200 units of serum from the Central Research Institute, Kasauli, was supplied to them only on Sunday.
According to data released by the NMC, of the admitted children 122 are from Uttar Pradesh, 14 from Delhi and 11 from Haryana. Out of 18 who died, 17 belonged to UP while one was from Delhi, he said.
Officials said the patients were up to 9 years of age and admitted in very advance stages and did not respond to the treatment. Most of them were not vaccinated for diphtheria.
The NMC has formed a high-level enquiry committee under the chairmanship of the Additional Commissioner (Health) to ascertain the cause of deaths.
“Medical Superintendents of Hindu Rao Hospital and Kasturba Hospital are members of the committee. This committee has been asked to look into all the possible aspects that led to the deaths of the innocent lives,” the official said.
The official said the NMC’s Adesh Gupta has directed the committee to submit its report on Monday. If anyone is found guilty of medical negligence, they will be punished, he added. Diphtheria is an infectious disease caused by corynebacterium diphtheria, which primarily infects the throat and upper airways, and produces a toxin affecting other organs. The illness has an acute onset and the main characteristics are a sore throat, low fever and swollen glands in the neck.
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.
North Delhi Mayor Adesh Gupta and the Medical Superintendent of the hospital, Sunil Kumar Gupta, did not respond to the repeated calls and messages from The Pioneer.
