Examine the rising trends in Diphtheria cases in India as a concern for India’s public health.

February 28, 2023 February 21, 2024

Diphtheria is an infectious disease caused by the bacteria Corynebacterium diphtheria. Diphtheria particularly affects children aged 1 to 5 years. Diphtheria is fatal in only 5-10% cases. As per the national health portal:

One type of diphtheria affects the throat and sometimes the tonsils.
Another type causes ulcers on the skin; these are more common in the tropics (places where all 12 months have mean temperatures of at least 18 °C).

Vaccination in India

Vaccination against Diphtheria was launched under the Expanded Programme on Immunisation in 1978.
The programme was converted to the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP) in 1985.
Vaccination is now incorporated as a pentavalent vaccine, (containing vaccine against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus [DPT], Hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenzae type B).
The coverage of diphtheria vaccine is 78.4% under UIP as per data from the National Family Health Survey 4

Rising Trend

India reported 2,365 diphtheria cases in 2015. This was a steep decline when compared to previous year.
But these numbers increased to 3,380, 5,293 and 8,788. in 2016, 2017 and 2018 respectively.
Delhi witnessed a diphtheria outbreak in 2018.

This rising trends in the number of cases of diphtheria is a cause of concern. Hence the government has decided to commission a study on vaccine hesitancy and ways to deal with it.

Topics: GS-II: Social Sector Services Education Human Resources