There have been 1,534 confirmed cases of diphtheria in Nigeria, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.
According to the NCDC, 4,160 suspected cases have been reported from 27 states and 139 Local Government Areas across the country.
This was stated by the NCDC in its diphtheria situation report for the period May 2022 to July 2023, which was published on its website.
The confirmed cases were spread among 56 LGAs in Kano (1,207), Yobe (252), Bauchi (41), Katsina (nine), Lagos (eight), FCT (six), and Kaduna (five).
Niger (two), Gombe (two), Osun (one), Jigawa (one), and Cross River (one) are the others.
Kano (3,233), Yobe (477), Katsina (132), Kaduna (101), Bauchi (54), FCT (41) and Lagos (30) account for 97.8 percent of suspected cases, according to the report.
“Of the 4,160 suspected cases recorded, 1,534 (36.9%) were confirmed (87 lab-confirmed; 158 epid linked; 1,289 clinically compatible), 1,700 (40.9%) were eliminated, 639 (15.4%) are pending classification, and 287 (6.9%) were unknown,” according to the report.
“The confirmed cases were spread over 56 local government areas in ten states.” The majority of confirmed cases [1,018 (66.4%)] occurred in youngsters aged one to 14 years.
“Among all confirmed cases, 137 deaths were recorded (CFR: 8.9%).” “Of the 1,534 confirmed cases, 1,257 (81.9%) were not properly vaccinated against diphtheria.”
Diphtheria, which is caused by a toxin produced by the bacteria Corynebacterium diphtheriae, is a vaccine-preventable disease that is covered by one of the vaccinations usually offered as part of Nigeria’s childhood immunization regimen.
