By NewsDesk  @bactiman63

COVID-19

Some 2323 confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported in Peru on Saturday, bringing the country total to 902,503.

Image/Alvaro1984 18

Of the total number of confirmed cases, to date, 825,197 people completed their period of home isolation or were discharged from a health facility.

To date, 34,476 COVID-19 related fatalities have been reported in Peru.

Diphtheria in Lima

The Deputy Minister of Public Health, Luis Suárez, reported that a diphtheria case in a 5-year-old girl from Lima had passed away after four days of hospitalization.

The child died Friday night from cardiac arrest at the Dos de Mayo Hospital.

This was the first case of diphtheria in Lima and Peru in 20 years, Suárez noted.

The girl lived  in a “border area between Cercado de Lima and La Victoria”, near the Manzanilla area.

“She is a girl whose family hails from the department of Loreto, but has been in the city of Lima for a year, she had only received her birth vaccination , she had not received any vaccination again, that is, she is an unvaccinated girl”, officials said.

WHO recommends a 3-dose primary vaccination series with diphtheria containing vaccine followed by 3 booster doses. The primary series should begin as early as 6-week of age with subsequent doses given with a minimum interval of 4 weeks between doses. The 3 booster doses should preferably be given during the second year of life (12-23 months), at 4-7 years and at 9-15 years of age. Ideally, there should be at least 4 years between booster doses.