According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, 38 people have died out of the 123 diphtheria cases recorded in Nigeria so far.
Kano, Lagos, Yobe, and Osun are the states currently dealing with the disease, which is caused by a serious infection of the nose and throat and is easily preventable by vaccine.
More cases of the disease are expected in the coming days, according to the nation’s disease control and prevention agency, which revealed this at a ministerial press briefing organized by the Federal Ministry of Health.
“As of January 22, NCDC has 123 confirmed cases and 38 deaths,” the NCDC said through its Director of Special Duties, Dr Prescilia Ibekwe. Kano has 100 cases, with 32 deaths. There are five cases in Lagos, with three deaths. Yobe has 17 confirmed cases and three deaths, while Osun has one case with no death.”
According to Ibekwe, there have been laboratory-confirmed cases in addition to clinically suspected cases.
Dr. Ibekwe stated that the agency was collaborating with state health ministries and partners to improve surveillance and response to the outbreak.
“Given the country’s suboptimal coverage for the third dose of the diphtheria-containing pentavalent vaccine (54% – 2021 MICS & NICS), we expect more cases from more states,” she said.
“The center has collaborated with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to organize a 5-day workshop in Nigeria for laboratory scientists working in NCDC’s National Reference Laboratories and its lab network on enhancing laboratory diagnosis of diphtheria (this was planned before cases were reported as part of preparedness), and
“Written to all states HCHs to institute immediate and necessary public health measures for timely detection and response to diphtheria at state level”.
In terms of measures being taken to prevent the disease from spreading further, Dr. Ibekwe stated that the NCDC has published a public health advisory, which is available on its website, that educates Nigerians on risk factors and offers advice, such as;
“Parents ensuring that their children are fully vaccinated against diphtheria with three doses of the pentavalent vaccine,” she explained. Healthcare workers should maintain a high index of suspicion for diphtheria”.
She also discussed how to better understand and contain global outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2 COVID-19 variants.
“The sub-lineages, namely XBB.1.5, which are partly responsible for the current increase in COVID-19 cases in the US and other countries have not yet been detected in the country,” she said.
“However, this variant has not been associated with increased severity of illness and now appears to be levelling off”.
“The variants reported in China thus far have been those that have been circulating globally for some time, including in Nigeria.”
