CHENNAI: With the reemergence of diphtheria in parts of the State, the Directorate of Public Health is focussing on conducting immunisation drives in schools. Officials say camps have been conducted at hilly regions such as Sathyamangalam and Thalavadi, from where few cases have been reported.
“We have covered 50,000 children in the last two days,” claimed Dr K Kolandaswamy, Director of Public Health. “They have been given Diphtheria, Pertussis and Tetanus (DPT) and Tetanus and Diphtheria (TD) vaccines.” He said the target age group was 9-11 years. The cause for the outbreak could be a potential failure in the immunisation drive or anti-vaccination campaigns being carried out by groups with ‘vested interests’, say government doctors.
Children who weren’t completely vaccinated could have been exposed to diphtheria infection. “Many parents hesitate to vaccinate their children due to rumours spread about vaccination by some groups on social media,” a government doctor said.