Four minors have died from November to December after being affected by diphtheria in an outbreak in the slum areas of Cienfuegos and Gurabo in the province of Santiago. The children had been interned at the Arturo Grullón Hospital but died because the hospital did not have the necessary anti-toxin drugs. Dr. Pedro Valenzuela Liranzo, director of the hospital said that 100% of the diphtheria cases reported affect children that had not been vaccinated. Had they been, they would not have suffered the disease. He said that one of the most frustrating deaths was that of a little girl who lived only meters away from the Public Health vaccination center in Cienfuegos where she could have been vaccinated at no cost to the parents. Dr. Valenzuela said that while there is not sufficient anti-toxin in the country to treat diptheria cases, there are sufficient vaccinations. He said that many mothers do not visit the vaccination centers, and when visited by Public Health vaccination crews at their houses, out of ignore they hide their children to avoid these the pain of being inoculated.
