KANNUR: In the backdrop of the confirmation of a diphtheria case in the district, the District Development Committee meeting here on Thursday has instructed the local bodies to be on high alert and take preventive measures on war footing.

The latest patient is a 13-year-old boy from the suburbs of Kannur town, who was partly immunized, as he did not complete the full course of the vaccination, and hence the local bodies should take measures to administer the vaccination to those who have not taken it properly, said DDC chairman and district panchayat president K V Sumesh.

Though it is believed that leprosy has been eradicated, on an average fifty people are affected with the disease every year in the district and last year nine of them were children, which means the bacteria causing the disease are still there, he pointed out.

The main cause of the existence of such diseases is that at least a minority fails to take the vaccination properly and hence everyone should get the vaccination administered, he said adding that those who have not taken the vaccination due to superstition should also get it administered to eradicate such diseases completely.

Meanwhile district collector Mir Muhammed Ali has said the preventive measures have been strengthened in the backdrop of the latest report about diphtheria in the district.

The bacterium that causes diphtheria is called corynebacterium diphtheria, and it spreads through the tiny particles coming out when the affected person coughs or sneezes, said the Health Department officials.

Since this is a dangerous disease, all the parents should take care to administer the vaccine to their children immediately, they added.

It was on January 30 that the fresh case, a boy studying at the Puzhathi Higher Secondary School here, was confirmed. However, the patient has already been recovered, they said.

This is the second case of diphtheria reported from the district in recent weeks. On December 5, 2017, a 14-year old girl from Peravur had died of diphtheria, and hence the officials are on war footing to make sure the spread of the disease is contained, they said.

