The Malaysia Ministry of Health (MOH) reported this week on the death due to diphtheria in the district of Johor Bahru.
Image/MOH
The reported case is a 14-month-old girl. The patient has never received any diphtheria immunization because the family refuses to receive immunization.
The child began to have fever and sore throat on October 4, 2018 and was taken by her mother to get an early treatment at a private clinic on October 11, 2018. The next day, the child was taken to hospital emergency unit due to shortness of breath and loss of appetite .
The patient was admitted to the child’s ward and subsequently admitted to the pediatric neurologic treatment unit on October 13, 2018 due to the weakening situation and requiring respiratory assistance. However, the child died on October 15, 2018 due to Severe Diphtheria with multiorgan failure.
MOH would like to advise the public to be alert to infectious diseases that can be prevented through immunization such as diphtheria, measles, mumps and others. This immunization service can be obtained from government and private health clinics. Failure to provide immunization to children not only exposes the child to infections but also can harm the community.
Therefore it is advisable that parents who have not yet been immunized to their children come to get immunizations on schedule set by the Ministry of Health.
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