Diphtheria: Nigeria records 836 cases, 83 deaths in 8 states — NPHCDA

<p>The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) has disclosed that no fewer than 836 cases of diphtheria have been confirmed in 33 Local Government Areas (LGAs) across eight states: Cross River, Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, Lagos, Osun, Yobe, and FCT.</p>, <p>It further disclosed that 83 deaths have been reported from these confirmed cases, making vaccination against this deadly disease critically important, especially for children.</p>, <p>The Executive Director of NPHCDA, Dr Faisal Shuaib, while disclosing this on Monday in his speech at a press conference on the diphtheria outbreak in Nigeria, said that despite the efforts of the Federal Government to provide safe and cost-effective vaccines, a significant number of children remain unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, compromising the country’s goal of achieving population immunity.</p>, <p>Shuaib added that suboptimal vaccination coverage has been the main factor contributing to these outbreaks, with the most affected age group being those between 2 to 14 years.</p>, <p>Shuaib, however, disclosed that the NPHCDA, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health, NCDC, the states, and their partners, is mobilizing all necessary resources to respond effectively to this outbreak. A comprehensive response plan has been activated to detect cases early, contain the spread, and prevent further transmission through a multi-phased strategy.</p>, <p>“To facilitate our immediate response plan, we are leveraging surveillance data from NCDC and direct information from the states to ensure effective planning and resource deployment.</p>, <p>“The Agency is working closely with partners to ensure adequate supplies of Tetanus Td for children 4 to 14 years and Pentavalent vaccines for children under 4 years.</p>, <p>“Currently, we are collaborating with the affected state teams and other stakeholders to conduct intensified mass vaccinations for identified at-risk populations in the affected states, administering pentavalent and tetanus & diphtheria vaccines.</p>