LAHORE: A committee constituted on chief minister’s direction to probe into diphtheria-related deaths at the Children’s Hospital has identified glaring flaws in two major areas -- immunisation coverage and the delay in importing medicine.

Presided over by King Edward Medical University Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Faisal Masood, the committee confirmed that seven children died of diphtheria due to non-availability of the medicine -- diphtheria antitoxin (DAT).

Services Institute of Medical Sciences Principal Prof Dr Hamid Butt and World Health Organisation’s Punjab operation officer Dr Jamshed Ahmad were members of the committee.

A senior official, privy to the information, told Dawn that total 14 deaths by diphtheria at the Children’s Hospital alone had been officially documented.

Some unconfirmed reports, however, suggest the death toll of the ailment has reached 20 during the last two months, a period during which the hospitals were not provided DAT.

Probe committee says international guidelines ignored

The situation has turned alarming as more children were being brought to the Children’s Hospital with diphtheria complications, the official said.

The official said the committee in its report confirmed that seven out of the 14 deaths by diphtheria were caused due to the drug’s non-availability.

He said the body identified a blunder on the preventive side, stating that the Punjab EPI officials had not been giving two additional doses to the children -- one at the age of 18 weeks and the other at four years.

It said diphtheira had almost been eliminated world over, but unfortunately Pakistan was one of the few countries still reporting deaths by the disease which was a matter of grave concern.

Even the neighboring countries, including India and Bangladesh, which had a high mortality ratio because of the ailment, have overcome the deadly disease.

The committee further reported that world over five doses were being administered to children according to the international guidelines on fighting diphtheria.

The additional two doses played a key role in eliminating the disease which is evident from the fact that all the deaths reported in the Children’s Hospital Lahore were of children above five.

“It is no less than a criminal offense that international pattern was not being followed in Pakistan, particularly in Punjab”, the official said.

The report categorically stated that the EPI teams had been providing anti-diphtheria coverage to the children only in primary immunisation phase -- at the age of 6 week, 10 weeks and 14 weeks.

The committee regretted that despite yearly preparation of the EPI coverage pattern by experts from WHO, Unicef, GAVI, besides the federal and Punjab governments, international guidelines on fighting diphtheria were not followed ignoring a huge number of above-five year children.

Holding some officials of the EPI Punjab and health department responsible for the blunder, the committee concluded that the two missed doses and delay in the drug import, led to the deaths at the Children’s Hospital Lahore.

Meanwhile, the health department suspended from service EPI Punjab additional director Syed Dr Sohail Ahmad following diphtheria-related deaths.

Published in Dawn, December 10th, 2015