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United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and The World Health Organization (WHO) have announced to provide anti-diphtheria serum as dozens of children died following a recent surge in the deadly infectious disease.
The vaccine-preventable disease, which was eradicated from the majority of the world, claimed the lives of at least 39 children and teenagers in the country despite assurances that routine immunization rates had increased.
The officials stated that WHO and UNICEF were working together to make plans for the distribution of anti-diphtheria serums.
Pediatricians blamed the epidemic of diphtheria on a paucity of anti-diphtheria serum and the pentavalent vaccine. According to the officials, very little anti-diphtheria serum is produced now that the disease has been eradicated worldwide.
“Diphtheria is a fatal bacterial infection that can be prevented by vaccination, but each week, dozens of cases are reported from Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan, as well as possible cases from Azad Jammu and Kashmir.” an official of the National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination (NHS,R&C) said.