By AMOS TAUNA, Kaduna
The federal government has said that Nigeria has recorded 453 deaths out of the 7,202 confirmed cases from diphtheria since the confirmation of the current outbreak in December 2022.
The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, in collaboration with the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency ( NPHCDA) and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Monday in a statement, said that as of September 24, 2023, 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 Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
According to the statement, most (6,185) of the confirmed cases were recorded in Kano.
It said, “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 statement explained that majority (73.6%) of the confirmed cases occurred among children aged 1 – 14 years with those aged 5-14 years bearing most of the brunt of the disease, saying that a total of 453 deaths have occurred in confirmed cases giving a case fatality rate (CFR) of 6.3%.
The Coordinating Minister of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, according to the statement 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 following findings that 80% of confirmed cases in the ongoing outbreak are unvaccinated.
It explained that other prominent members of the task force include Director of Public Health-FMOH, representatives from the Federal Ministry of Information, the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), USCDC, USAID, GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, other non-governmental organizations and development partners.
Since the confirmation of an outbreak, the statement explained that the FMOH&SW through her agencies has been coordinating surveillance and response activities across the country that include response coordination, surveillance, laboratory investigation, vaccination, case management, and risk communication activities.
The statement said that Diphtheria, caused by a toxin produced by the bacteria Corynebacterium diphtheriae, is a vaccine-preventable disease covered by one of the vaccines provided routinely through Nigeria’s childhood immunization schedule.
