Pakistan: Experts raise concern over rising diphtheria cases in Karachi, call for vaccine review

Karachi: Experts in Pakistan have raised concerns over the rising number of diphtheria cases among children, calling for an investigation into the efficacy of the vaccine currently being used to prevent the highly contagious bacterial infection, as reported by Dawn.
Several children across the country, particularly in Karachi, have succumbed to the disease, with some reports suggesting the need to raise the immunisation age limit from two years to five years, Dawn reported.
Health officials have confirmed that 40 children have died due to diphtheria outbreaks in Karachi's West, Keamari, and East districts, as well as in Larkana and Dadu districts, Dawn reported.
Data from the Expanded Programme for Immunisation (EPI) shows 55 diphtheria-related deaths in 2023. However, the Sindh Health Department has only confirmed 30 cases out of 219 suspected patients, Dawn reported.
Experts have also warned of a shortage of antitoxins, which are essential for treating the disease. "This wave of outbreaks continuing since 2023 indicates a lack of timely action. Second, surveillance officers are reportedly discarding diphtheria cases where the cultures are positive but the toxin production is negative," a senior doctor was quoted as saying by Dawn.
The Sindh Infectious Diseases Hospital and Research Centre (SIDH&RC) reported that 20 children, mostly between the ages of 3 and 10, have died from the infection. More than 80 patients were also admitted to the hospital in Karachi.
Samina Junejo, a senior paediatrician at Indus Hospital, expressed concern over the rising cases. "While measles cases have declined significantly, diphtheria cases are on the rise. Most of the affected children are either unvaccinated or only partially vaccinated, but we have also seen infections in children who received all three doses of the diphtheria vaccine," she said, as reported by Dawn.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), diphtheria is a bacterial infection that targets the upper throat and respiratory tract, releasing toxins that can cause severe damage to other organs.