The toll due to diphtheria in Delhi rose to 22 after two more deaths at the Maharishi Valmiki Infectious Diseases Hospital on Thursday, PTI reported. The North Delhi Municipal Corporation governs the hospital.
Diphtheria is an infectious disease that primarily infects the throat and upper airways, and produces a toxin affecting other organs, according to the World Health Organization. It is preventable with a vaccine. India accounted for 60% of all diphtheria cases globally last year.
“From September 6 onwards, there have been over 170 admissions at the municipal hospital, out of whom 21 have died,” a hospital official said. One death had been reported earlier at the state-run Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital. Most of the patients admitted at the hospitals are from Uttar Pradesh.
Between September 6 and September 19, 11 children below the age of nine died from the disease. North Delhi Mayor Adesh Gupta then set up a panel to look into the cases. He also suspended the medical superintendent of the hospital Sunil Kumar Gupta earlier this week for alleged lapses in connection with the deaths at the facility.
Anti-diphtheria serum, the antitoxin used for the treatment, has been unavailable with the civic body since February, The Hindu reported. Sunil Kumar Gupta had earlier said that the procurement was delayed as renovation was taking place at the institute in Kasauli where the serum is produced.
Adesh Gupta said he had approached Union Health Minister JP Nadda to get the serum and it has now been supplied to the hospital. “As of now, there is no shortage of the serum,” he told PTI.
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