PESHAWAR: According to government sources, the health department has been having trouble treating diphtheria patients since anti-diphtheria serum (ADS) is not readily available on the market.
Since the medication is not sold on the open market, we have borrowed 3,000 vials of ADS from Punjab and the federal government. Thus, in order to protect yourself from the illness, we advise immunization,” Dr. Mohammad Arif Khan, the head of the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI), told Dawn.
He claimed that throughout the course of the previous year, 300 cases of diphtheria, including individuals as old as 60, had been confirmed by the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad. “The disease is vaccine-preventable; about 200 fatalities have been reported as a result of it,” the speaker continued.
A single vial of ADS costs Rs. 28,000, according to Dr. Arif, and four to six vials are needed for one patient. According to him, the only kids who weren’t vaccinated could potentially contract the illness. He said, “We just finished a 12-day enhanced outreach immunization program throughout the province.
1,900 suspected cases have been registered thus far, according to the EPI director.
He stated that about 1.1 million children under the age of two received vaccinations against 12 vaccine-preventable diseases from their workers during the campaign, which ran from February 12 to February 24. “1,900 suspected cases have been reported in the province thus far,” he continued.
To guarantee that all children who are not vaccinated or who have not received their doses will receive them and remain safe from the disease, Dr. Arif announced that there will be three more campaigns this year. “Due to a lack of vaccination, the province is not only dealing with cases of diphtheria but also measles cases.” he continued.
According to him, the World Health Organization was collaborating with the initiatives to inoculate the target population in public areas.
He clarified that vaccination efforts were intended to target children who were not taken to the fixed EPI centers in public sector hospitals, where children were also given vaccines.
Sources said that the outreach initiatives were severely impacted by the government’s acute financial crisis. “The technicians’ lack of funding prevents them from conducting outreach initiatives. Before, the department paid each technician Rs300 per day to carry out outreach programs and vaccinate youngsters who had not been vaccinated or defaulted, a top physician informed Dawn.
According to him, the immunization program needs Rs. 4 billion annually to guarantee that the personnel receives POL and other necessary logistics to reach every child.
“According to protocol, we need to administer booster doses to children and carry out case response campaigns in any area upon the emergence of a case. However, due to financial constraints, we are depending on WHO, which has been funding heightened outreach campaigns for the past 18 months,” he stated.
Due to its high cost and limited availability in the open market, patients in need of ADS are the ones who suffer from it. “At the local level, we have involved community elders to facilitate the immunization process and safeguard children from illnesses,” the physician stated.
Raising public awareness to end vaccine hesitancy at the community level, he said, was also necessary because many parents chose not to vaccinate their children because of false beliefs.
He emphasized that the public ought to be made aware that immunizations were provided at no cost at EPI centers and were given by licensed medical professionals working in government-run institutions. “Vaccination is recommended due to the high infectiousness of diphtheria,” he stated.
SOURCE: DAWN NEWS
