Sister of a boy died of a suspicion of diphtheria among five children in quarantine | Malaysia

JOHOR BARU, FEBRUARY 24 – Five children suspected of having contracted diphtheria, suspected of having been in contact with the two-year-old boy who died recently, are quarantined at Sultanah Aminah Hospital after have been tested positive for the disease.

Dr. Sahruddin Jamal, Chair of the Johor Health, Environment and Agriculture Committee, said the children, three girls and two boys aged four and under, included the deceased's older sister.

"They were among the 52 people who had been screened for diphtheria because they had been in contact with the deceased and the presence of Corynebacterium Diphteria had been detected in the throat tissue samples," she said. he told the press after visiting the children at the hospital that day.

He added that the children had been admitted to the hospital yesterday and that their condition would have been stable.

Three of them, including a girl, should be allowed to return home tomorrow, he added.

Dr. Sahruddin said that the deceased's sister, who had never been immunized, and another boy, still needed treatment.

He added that the mother of the deceased, who is pregnant, was also tested for diphtheria and a negative result for the disease.

According to Dr. Sahruddin, two cases of diphtheria were reported in that state last year, including the death of a 14-month-old child, and six cases, including one death, were reported this year in Johor .

He advised parents whose children had not yet been vaccinated against the disease to be vaccinated in public or private clinics.

Vaccination is a safe and effective way to protect your children from infection. If you do not, it will not only expose them to infections, but will also be harmful to others, he added.

Yesterday, the Director General of Health, Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah, Director General of Health, said in a statement that a two-year-old boy, who died on Feb. 21 in Johor Baru, was reportedly infected with diphtheria. .

He added that the toddler, who had never been vaccinated since birth, developed fever, swollen cough and tonsils on February 16 and was taken to the emergency unit. from a hospital two days later.

"Unfortunately, the child could not be saved and on 21 February he succumbed to severe diphtheria with a failure of several organs," he said. – Bernama