The Diphtheria outbreak continues to pose a huge threat to Nigerian communities, affecting children in 27 states and with no fewer than 137 deaths and 1,534 confirmed cases recorded between May 2022 and 2023.
Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) Diphtheria Situation Report, on Tuesday, indicated that worst hits states in Nigeria were Kano and Yobe State, with Kano (1,055), Yobe (232), Kaduna (85), Katsina (58), Bauchi (47) and the Federal Capital Territory (18) accounting for 99.3 per cent of all suspected cases.
The latest report said a total of 1,506 suspected cases were reported from 11 states across 59 Local Government Areas, with 39 deaths recorded among all confirmed cases and a Case Fatality Rate (CFR) of 6.7 per cent. Cumulatively for May 2022 to July 2023, it said, “A total of 4,160 suspected cases have been reported from 27 states across 139 LGAs in the country. Kano (3,233), Yobe (477), Katsina (132), Kaduna (101), Bauchi (54), FCT (41) & Lagos (30) account for 97.8% of suspected cases.
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