Malappuram: Diphtheria has claimed the life of a six-year-old boy near Edappal in the district on Tuesday. The boy, Muhammed Shan, of Perumba-rambu, was undergoing treatment at Government Medical College, Thrissur.
He was admitted to Ponnnani government hospital on Saturday for fever and later shifted to Thrissur after his condition deteriorated.
District medical officer Dr K. Sakkeena said that the boy was taken to the MCH after confirming diphtheria. He had not taken preventive vaccination, according to health authorities. The health department will launch a vaccination drive in two block panchayats in Edappal in the wake of the re-emergence of the disease.
The lethal disease was reported in the district in January after a long interval. Two high school students were admitted to the Government Medical College Hospital with diphtheria. They were inmates of an orphanage at Pappinippara near Manjeri. Earlier in 2016, the total number of confirmed cases reported in the district was 42 and suspected cases 248.
Since 2017, after the disease resurfaced in the district, the health department has been on a vaccination awareness drive. Over 30 confirmed diphtheria cases were reported since then apart from two deaths.
