The National Primary Health Care Department Agency (NPHCDA) has said that diphtheria infection has killed 20 people, most of whom are children in Kaduna State.
According to the agency, 156 cases of the disease have been confirmed in the northwest Nigerian state.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defined Diphtheria as a serious infection caused by strains of bacteria called Corynebacterium diphtheriae that make toxins.
The CDC noted that the infection can lead to difficulty breathing, heart rhythm problems, and even death and recommends vaccines for infants, children, teens, and adults to prevent diphtheria.
According to Vanguard, the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Agency, Dr Faisal Shuaib, who is a Co-Chairman of the Federal Task Team on Diphtheria, told newsmen after he visited the Kaduna Diphtheria Treatment Centre, that they were at the Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital to assess the situation of the diphtheria outbreak that affected part of Kaduna state.
Shuaib said, “Kaduna is ranked among the 7 states with the high number of diphtheria. We are at the Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital where mild to moderate cases are being attended to before being admitted to the infectious disease hospitals.”
According to the Director, since March this year when the diphtheria outbreak was detected in Kaduna, 150 cases and about 20 deaths have been recorded.
“That is high for diphtheria, but we also recognize that most of the patients are presented lately. There is also a need for the media to step up in creating awareness and providing useful information to the public about the existence of the disease.”
He noted that there was the need for patients with the disease to be presented early, together with their contacts for vaccination, saying that “Diphtheria is a preventable disease, about 80 percent of those afflicted by the diseases did not presented themselves for vaccination”.
Shuaib said that the diphtheria outbreak was due to low population immunity that was created by low vaccination coverage, adding that the “discrepancy of the outbreak even within Kaduna shows that the LGAs that have a high rate of vaccination, record lower cases of the disease”.
The Director said that vaccines were the most powerful tools against diphtheria, and commended the efforts of the state government in combating the disease, while he urged the people of the state to wear nose masks.
He further commended the Chief Medical Director of the Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital and the Kaduna State Primary Health Care Board for their leadership and hoped that the outbreak would soon be contained.