TV drama raises fears over diphtheria return
hEALTh chiefs have warned of the importance of vaccinations after Call the Midwife featured an episode about an outbreak of diphtheria.
The BBC1 drama returned to screens last night with a harrowing story in which nurses battled to control the highly contagious disease.
health bosses said it must serve as a vital reminder to parents about jabs – and warned that rising complacency and falling uptake of the diphtheria vaccination means it could stage a resurgence.
Diphtheria is a potentially deadly bacterial infection that leads to a thick white coating at the back of the throat, and can cause painful pus-filled blisters on the skin.
Before mass immunisation was introduced in 1942, diphtheria infected around 60,000 children a year, killing 4,000. Latest NhS figures show that uptake of the diphtheria booster vaccination, given before children start school, has fallen from 89 per cent to 85 per cent in the past six years.
health expert Dr Vanessa Saliba said: ‘Thanks to vaccination, diphtheria is now rare in this country – but we cannot be complacent. It’s vitally important that parents ensure their children are fully protected against this highly contagious and potentially fatal infection by taking up the vaccine on time when it is offered.’
In Scotland, the diphtheria booster coverage among fiveyear-olds has dropped, from 93.4 per cent in 2013 to 91.6 per cent last year.
In November, two people were treated for diphtheria in NhS Lothian. health chiefs said the two cases were related and the patients had recently returned from overseas.
Last night’s Call the Midwife episode, set in 1965, showed the impact of a diphtheria outbreak at a homeless shelter in Poplar, east London. It followed a pregnant mother of one whose son, Terry, collapses after contracting the infection while she is in hospital giving birth.
During the programme Nurse Crane, played by Linda Bassett, also lectures the midwives on the importance of vaccination.