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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Health & Science

NCDC: Eight states account for 98% of Nigeria’s confirmed diphtheria cases

From ThisDay · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

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  • Nigeria’s disease control agency said eight states accounted for 98% of confirmed diphtheria cases, with about 68% involving unvaccinated people.
  • Authorities recorded 48 confirmed cases and four deaths from Aug. 24 to Aug. 30, while Plateau reported 143 suspected cases and 23 deaths over two weeks.
  • Plateau ordered schools to close temporarily, and health agencies began vaccination, surveillance, contact tracing and treatment measures.

Eight Nigerian states account for 98% of the country’s confirmed diphtheria cases, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. About 68% of confirmed patients were unvaccinated, highlighting the challenge facing authorities as the vaccine-preventable disease spreads.

The NCDC identified the affected states as Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Borno, Bauchi, Plateau, Sokoto and Zamfara. Between Aug. 24 and Aug. 30, Nigeria recorded 69 suspected cases, 48 confirmed cases and four deaths.

NCDC Principal Health Communication Officer Michael Okali said the agency was working with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency and the Federal Ministry of Health to support the affected states. “Five hundred vaccines have been sent to Kano and Katsina,” he said, adding that officials were building their stockpile to ensure primary health centres had enough doses.

Five hundred vaccines have been sent to Kano and Katsina, and we are also doing more, building up our stockpile to ensure this distribution goes ahead and that the PHCs have enough vaccines to give.

· Michael OkaliThe NCDC official described vaccination support being sent to affected states.

Okali said a task force had been established to conduct surveillance, trace contacts, manage cases and strengthen laboratory testing. He described the response as showing progress, saying, “It’s looking good.”

Plateau has taken its own emergency measures after recording 143 suspected cases and 23 deaths in the past two weeks. Governor Caleb Mutfwang ordered all public and private primary and secondary schools in the state to close temporarily from Sept. 7. Suspected cases were concentrated in Jos North, Wase, Jos South and Bassa local government areas.

Katsina officials also warned that the outbreak was worsening. Acting Executive Secretary of the state primary health care agency Shaima’u Abba said the case fatality rate had risen to about 5.6%, partly because many patients reached treatment centres only after developing severe complications.

It’s looking good.

· Michael OkaliOkali described the agency’s response to the outbreak.
About this summary

Originally published by ThisDay in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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