The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has recorded 798 diphtheria cases in eight states across 33 local government areas in the country.
The health agency made this public on Thursday in a statement signed by its Director General, Dr Ifedayo Adetifa, following the first reported confirmed case of diphtheria in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
According to the statement, the death toll had risen to 80, with a case-fatality ratio of 10 per cent as of June 30, 2023.t
It however, said the FCT Health and Human Services Secretariat has activated the diphtheria Incident Management System to coordinate outbreak response activities, noting that as of July 3, 2023, only one confirmed case has been detected in the FCT, with seven suspected cases testing negative while others are awaiting laboratory results.
The public health institute noted that since December 2022, diphtheria cases have been reported in some states, which include, Kano, Lagos, Yobe, Katsina, Cross River, Kaduna, Osun, and the FCT, with Kano leading with 782 cases.
Recall that the Federal Capital Territory Administration made it known on Monday that the disease claimed the life of a four-year-old child in Deidei District of the FCT.
Meanwhile, 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 immunisation schedule.
The NCDC however lamented that despite the availability of a safe and cost-effective vaccine in the country, the majority—82 per cent—of the 798 confirmed diphtheria cases in the ongoing outbreak were unvaccinated.
Credit: Punch Newspaper
