The Federal Government has hinted that there have been 11,587 suspected cases of diphtheria in Nigeria, of which 7,202 cases have been confirmed and 453 deaths have been reported.
The reported instances of diphtheria, according to a situation report released today by the federal government, were found in 105 Local Government Areas (LGAs) throughout 18 states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
A dangerous infection known as diphtheria is brought on by toxin-producing bacteria called Corynebacterium diphtheriae. It may result in breathing difficulties, irregular heartbeat, and even death. To prevent diphtheria, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States advise vaccinations for infants, kids, teens, and adults.
This was contained in a joint press statement from the Federal Government through the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), stating, “As of September 24, there have been 11,587 reported suspected cases out of which 7,202 were confirmed cases from 105 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in (18) States including the FederalCapitalTerritory (FCT).
“Most 6,185 of the confirmed
cases were recorded in Kano. “Other states with cases are Yobe, (640), Katsina (213), Borno (95), Kaduna (16), Jigawa (14), Bauchi (8), Lagos (8), FCT (5), Gombe (5), Osun (3), Sokoto (3), Niger (2), Cross River (1), Enugu (1), Imo (1), Nasarawa (1) and Zamfara (1).
“The majority (5,299 [73.6 per cent]) of the confirmed cases occurred among children aged one to 14 years with those aged five to 14 years bearing most of the brunt of the disease.
“So far, a total of 453 deaths have occurred in confirmed cases giving a case fatality rate (CFR) of 6.3 per cent.”
Meanwhile, given the escalation of the outbreak and findings that 80 per cent of confirmed cases in the ongoing outbreak are unvaccinated, the Coordinating Minister of the Federal Ministry of Health & Social Welfare (FMOH&SW), Professor Muhammad Ali Pate has set up a national emergency task team co-chaired by the Executive Director of the NPHCDA and the Director General of the
NCDC for higher level coordination of outbreak response efforts.
This includes ensuring optimal collaboration of all relevant health stakeholders in this fight. “Other prominent members of the task force include: Director of Public Health-FMOH, representatives from the Federal Ministry of Information (FMoH), the World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), USCDC, USAID, GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, other non-governmental organizations and development partners
