DC CORRESPONDENT | August 12, 2014, 02.08 am IST

Hyderabad:  Fifteen cases of diphtheria have been detected in Hyderabad in the first week of August.

These cases were seen in children who were not immunized. Doctors explained that it is an infectious disease and affects the mucous membranes of the nose and throat and if not treated in the initial stages it can be fatal.

Dr Altaf Naseem, paediatrician, explained, “This disease occurs only in those who have not been vaccinated. Vaccines are three primary doses and two booster doses. The first dose is given to a newborn.”

Health workers feel that some children in the slums may not have got the vaccination.

A senior officer of health department said, “There is shortage of anganwadi workers in the slums. In the Hyderabad area, there are staff transferred from other programmes. Some of them have not got salaries since a year and are going around government offices to get their payment. Hence, the work on the field has been suffering.”

Dr Sambhasiva Rao, director of health in Telangana state said they would look into the cases and ensure that there is proper surveillance.