Diphtheria struck two government hospitals in Delhi and left 12 children dead in 13 days from September 6 to September 19.
For those who do not know what Diphtheria is, it is a bacterial infection that can spread from one person to another. The infection directly affects the mucous membranes of the nose and throat.
One of the hospitals named Maharishi Valmiki Infectious Diseases Hospital run by North Delhi Municipal Corporation on NDMC claimed eleven lives while Lok Nayak Hospital run by the Delhi Government claimed the life of one child.
From September 1, about 300 cases of the patients suffering from Diphtheria were reported out of which 85 patients were admitted in the hospitals due to the spread of the infection, according to the reports by the hospital authorities.
Most of the children admitted in the hospitals were from other cities such as Uttar Pradesh, Bulandshahr, and Muzaffarnagar. Of the total death cases reported, only one child hailed from Delhi.
The prevention of this disease is a free-of-cost vaccination provided by the government under the universal immunisation programme.
The dosage of the vaccinations is 1 and a half months followed by 2 and a half months and three and a half years. A booster vaccination is given after 1 and a half year as a prevention from the disease.