MIRI: A two-year-old boy, who was not vaccinated, died from diphtheria at Miri Hospital, last Wednesday.
Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the toddler had not been vaccinated since he was born.
He said the boy had fever, cough, flu and difficulty breathing seven days before his death.
"The ministry has found that the boy was not immunised due to religious reasons," he said in a statement here today.
He said there were 32 cases of diphtheria, which resulted in seven deaths, reported throughout the country last year.
He said most of the deaths were because the children were not vaccinated.
He added that children between two and five must be vaccinated against the disease, which has a high fatality rate.