DIPHTHERIA CASES UP IN KERALA, VACCINATION DRIVE INTENSIFIED
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala health department has intensified an immunisation drive in the Muslim-dominated Malappuram district after 20 new cases of diphtheria were reported from the area in the last month.
The preventable bacteriainduced disease has claimed lives of two children from the district so far.
Under pressure from a section of clerics and quacks, many parents in the district refuse to get their children vaccinated. Members of different fundamentalist outfits are leading a misinformation campaign, alleging that most vaccines were a creation of the West, designed to restrict the Muslim population.
Last year, four children had succumbed to diphtheria, which was assumed to have been eradicated from the state.
“The return of the disease is a serious concern. We are making an all-out effort to immunise all the children in the district,” said state health minister KK Shylaja.
Five doses of the DPT vaccine (Diphtheria, Pertussis and Tetanus Toxoid) are given free to all children under India’s universal immunisation programme.
According to the state health ministry statistics, at least 35% of children in the district, who are between the age of one and five years and 20% in the 7-16 age group have not received any kind of vaccination. This stands in sharp contrast to the overall immunisation rate of above 90% in both categories across the state
The state government has taken numerous steps to weed out the opposition to the vaccination drive. A vaccination certificate has been made compulsory for admission to schools. Many mosques in the area are making special announcements through public address system asking parents to get their children immunized. Despite these efforts, the ground reality remains grim in Malappuram.
“We are facing a difficult situation. Nearly one lakh children below the age of 16 are yet to receive vaccination,” said district medical officer Dr Ummer Farook.