Eight children die of diphtheria in Gujranwala in last two months

GUJRANWALA: As many as eight children have died of diphtheria during the last two months here.

Similarly, 20 children were suffering from the disease during the same period and were under treatment at hospitals. The increasing number of victims has raised the questions about the performance of the health authorities. The citizens have shown serious concerns over the situation and demanded the higher authorities take action to stop the rising death toll and control the whole situation.

The victim children, including six-year-old Abdul Hassan, seven-year-old Zeeshan Ali, 12-year-old Hassan, 12-year-old Zuhra Batool and three-year-old Arham, died within a few days after contracting the contagious disease.

It was told that all the children had got vaccinated of anti-diphtheria. Citizens criticised the health authorities and said that the children were dying of the disease while the Punjab government was focusing just on dengue eradication.

When contacted, Commissioner Zahid Akthar Zaman said that he himself took notice of the matter and asked the health authorities to furnish a report in this regard.

The commissioner said that he also directed the concerned authorities to produce the actual figures about anti-diphtheria vaccination (EPI) in the district.