By Asmau Ahmad
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) revealed that the country has recorded approximately 15,060 suspected cases of diphtheria infections as October 19.
Out of these cases, 9,478 have been confirmed in 137 local government across 20 states, including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
Director General of the NCDC, Dr Ifedayo Adetifa made this announcement during a press briefing in Abuja on Thursday.
He stated that 71.5% of the confirmed cases were found in individuals between the ages of one and 14 years, with infants accounting for less than one percent of the cases. Notably, Kano, the epicentre of the infection, has reported the highest number of cases at 7,747, followed by Yobe with 841 cases.
Dr Adetifa provided a breakdown of the number of infections in other states, stating that Bauchi recorded 369 infections, Katsina 275, Borno 164, Jigawa 24, Kaduna 18, Lagos 8, Zamfara 7, FCT 7, Gombe 5, Sokoto 4, Osun 3, and Niger recorded two cases of diphtheria.
Cross River, Enugu, Imo, Nasarawa, Kebbi, and Taraba each reported one case of diphtheria infection.
The Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr Faisal Shuaib, who also spoke during the briefing, disclosed that a total of 1,692,762 children between the ages of six months to four years have received the Pentavalent vaccine, which is essential in preventing this disease.
Additionally, 3,166,419 children aged four to 14 years have been vaccinated with the TD vaccine, further strengthening the country’s defense against the disease among children and teenagers.
Dr Shuaib highlighted the success of the outbreak response, particularly in Kano, where 1,111,310 children have been immunized with Td vaccines and 544,737 children with Pentavalent vaccines during phase two. He also commended the efforts of Kaduna, Bauchi, Borno, Jigawa, and Yobe in their dedicated vaccination campaigns, ensuring the health and well-being of hundreds of thousands of children.
