Jamshedpur, Dec. 3: It’s healthcare at its worst in the steel city.

The state-run Mahatma Gandhi Memorial (MGM) Medical College and Hospital has been doing without the vital DPT vaccine for the past six months, triggering speculation that children born during that period remain vulnerable to three deadly diseases — diphtheria, pertussis or whooping cough and tetanus.

According to hospital records, on an average 10 babies are born at MGM every day. So, in the past six months at least 1,800 children were born, but none of them administered the life-saving vaccine.

Hospital officials said they had been sending SOS to the East Singhbhum civil surgeon’s office, but in vain. “We are being told that the vaccine is not available in the state,” said an official. Head of gynaecology department Dr Karmila Kujur, too, contended that there was a crunch in the market. “If the vaccine was available in the market, we could have at least asked parents to buy them. The supply is restricted and we have no option but to forward to the civil surgeon’s office,” Kujur said.

When contacted district civil surgeon Dr Dipali Dey expressed helplessness. “DPT vaccine has been in short supply for five-six months now. How can we provide the injections to MGM if we are not supplied any from the headquarters in Ranchi?” she said.

State health department officials, however, said they were unaware of the shortage. The RCF officer of neighbouring Seraikela-Kharsawan district, Maheswar Prasad, said though the vaccines were not readily available, they were not out of market. He said the district had procured some last week.

When this matter was brought to the notice of Dey, she said that the health department was arranging for the supply. “DPT vaccines will soon be available in the steel city,” she said.

Not just the state-run hospital, health centres too are facing a problem. “There are at least two primary health centres (PHC) in each block of the district. Several babies are born in these centres every day. Imagine the number of children who might have already contracted the diseases or rendered vulnerable to them,” said a health centre employee, requesting anonymity.

Vishwanath Karmakar, whose wife gave birth to a son at MGM recently, said he was not aware of any immunisation programme in his village. “We are poor people. How can we know about vaccines if doctors do not tell us?” he said.

According to a World Health Organisation (WHO) directive, every child has to be administered the DPT vaccine within six weeks of his or her birth. It is one of the earliest vaccinations a baby must receive is the DPT, since especially because pertussis and diphtheria are associated with high death rates and complications in young children, particularly in rural India.