Measures to prevent diphtheria will be stepped up at Vettathur, Kottumala, and other places in Malappuram district, where the disease has been reported, Health Minister V.S. Sivakumar has said.
A team of experts from the Health Directorate and Kozhikode Medical College will visit these regions on Sunday to assess the situation and formulate a programme for preventive measures. He was speaking after an emergency meeting convened in the capital on Saturday to discuss the issue.
Industries Minister P.K. Kunhalikutty will inaugurate the second phase of preventive vaccination set to begin at Malappuram from October 1. The aim of the programme is to vaccinate all children below two years of age, who had been kept out of previous immunisation efforts.
Mr.Sivakumar requested all parents to ensure that their children were immunised. It was unfortunate that due to superstitions and false propaganda the rights of children for immunisation were being denied. Awareness programmes about this would be organised.
Everyone should realise that diphtheria had reappeared because of lack of immunisation. Malappuram and Kasaragod were the districts lagging behind in immunisation in the State. The reluctance of the parents had prevented health officers who visited houses for immunisation from administering the doses to children. This attitude had to change, he said.
