The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in collaboration with National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Nigeria Center for Disease Control and Partners said Nigeria has recorded 11,587 suspected Diphtheria cases out of which 7,202 were confirmed cases while 453 deaths were reported.
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A situation report stated that the reported Diphtheria cases occurred in 105 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in 18 states including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The joint statement from the Government and its health agencies, NPHCDA and NCDC said: “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 Federal Capital Territory (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)”, It said.
“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,” it added.
However, 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 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.
They further noted that a historical gap in vaccination coverage was the driver of the outbreak given the most affected age group of 5–14year-olds and results of the nationwide diphtheria immunity survey that shows only 42 per cent of children under 15 years old are fully protected from diphtheria.
They have also intensified routine diphtheria immunisation and reactive vaccination campaigns in 33 local government areas (LGAs) across five (5) states – Bauchi, Katsina, Yobe, Kano, and Kaduna by the NPHCDA among others.
The agencies advised that to reduce the risk of diphtheria, parents should ensure that their children are fully vaccinated against diphtheria with the 3 doses of diphtheria antitoxin-containing pentavalent vaccine given as part of Nigeria’s childhood immunisation schedule.
They also stated that healthcare workers should maintain a high index of suspicion for diphtheria and practice standard infection prevention and control precautions while handling all patients in their care.
“All healthcare workers (doctors, nurses, laboratory scientists, support staff etc.) with a high level of exposure to cases of diphtheria should be vaccinated against diphtheria. Individuals with signs and symptoms suggestive of diphtheria should promptly present to a healthcare facility or designated diphtheria treatment centres and where possible they and/or healthcare workers should notify their LGA, State Disease Surveillance Officer (DSNO), their State Ministry of Health helpline, or the NCDC through our toll-free line on 6232.
“Close contact with a confirmed case of diphtheria should be closely monitored and managed according to guidelines.
“The most effective protection against diphtheria is vaccination with the Pentavalent or TD vaccine. The Federal Government of Nigeria provides free, safe, and effective vaccines at all Primary Healthcare Centres nationwide. We invite the public to take advantage of the ongoing vaccination occurring in all states. Parents are kindly advised to take their children aged 0 – 14 years to the nearest Government health facility to get vaccinated in accordance with the routine immunisation schedule and ongoing reactive vaccination campaign in the affected Local Government Areas (LGAs) as applicable. Vaccination saves lives,” they added.
Diphtheria is a serious infection caused by strains of bacteria called Corynebacterium diphtheriae that make toxins. It can lead to difficulty in breathing, heart rhythm problems, and even death. The United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends vaccines for infants, children, teens, and adults to prevent diphtheria.
