Girl, 10, dies after diphtheria diagnosis

MANILA, Philippines — A 10-year-old girl in Manila died last Friday within hours after being clinically diagnosed with diphtheria, a school officer said yesterday.

The girl, a Grade 4 student of Jacinto Zamora Elementary School, had fever on Sept. 13, the last day she attended class, ABS-CBN reported.

The girl, who developed rashes and mouth sores, died on Sept. 20, within hours after she was diagnosed with diphtheria.

School nurse Josefina de Guzman said the information was provided by the girl’s mother.

De Guzman said the school, which has 2,300 students, has disinfected its premises.

The Research Institute for Tropical Medicine is conducting laboratory tests to confirm the clinical diagnosis, she added.

Students who had close contact with the girl were given prophylactic treatment and no other student has so far shown symptoms similar to the victim’s, De Guzman said.

Manila city health chief Dr. Arnold Pangan refused to give details on the case, saying he was in a seminar.

Julius Leonen, Mayor Isko Moreno’s personal assistant, also said he was in “training” when asked to comment on the case.

Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacterium Corynebacterium diptheriae, which attaches to the lining of the respiratory system and produces a toxin that destroys healthy tissues.

Within two to three days, the dead tissue forms a thick, gray coating that can make it difficult to breathe and swallow, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The toxin may also get into the bloodstream and damage the heart, nerves and kidneys and lead to heart failure, paralysis and death.

The Department of Health (DOH) is looking into the slight increase in the prevalence and deaths due to diphtheria nationwide.

The cases of diphtheria rose to 167, including 40 deaths, from January to September this year from 122 cases, including 30 deaths, during the same period last year, data from the DOH’s Epidemiology Bureau showed.

“The reasons for the trend are being investigated,” the DOH said in a statement.

Health Undersecretary Eric Domingo said the increase was not significant and not a cause for concern for the DOH at this time.

The DOH, however, urged parents to ensure that their children receive the complete dose of all recommended vaccines in the first year of life.

“Apart from the measles and poliomyelitis outbreaks that have been declared, we must equally protect our infants and young children from other vaccine-preventable diseases, namely diphtheria, pertussis (or whooping cough) and tetanus through immunization,” the DOH said.  – With Mayen Jaymalin