Health workers take the Diphtheria Tetanus (DT) vaccine during Stage Two of School Child Immunization Month (BIAS).
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, CIREBON — The Cirebon City Health Office (Dinkes) confirmed that currently there are no cases diphtheria who attacked the people in the city. In fact, diphtheria cases in Cirebon City have been declared nil since 2022 until now.
“Since 2022 until now, there have been no positive cases (diphtheria) in Cirebon City,” said Cirebon City Health Office Head Siti Maria Listia, Wednesday (1/3/2023).
Maria admitted that in November 2022, there was a resident who was suspected of having diphtheria. However, from the results of an examination at the West Java Provincial Health Lab, it turned out to be negative for diphtheria.
Apart from that, in February 2023, it was also reported that a resident had symptoms similar to diphtheria. However, after coordinating with the West Java Provincial Health Lab, the resident was declared not to have met the diphtheria requirements.
Maria admitted that there was one area in Cirebon City that had very low DPT immunization results. The reason is, residents in the area refuse to carry out DPT immunization because they think it is not in accordance with their beliefs.
“In fact, this immunization has received permission from the MUI,” said Maria.
For this reason, the Cirebon City Health Office continues to educate the public about the importance of DPT immunization in preventing diphtheria. This is because diphtheria is an infectious disease that has a high fatality rate.
