Joe Ogini
The United Nations International Educational Children’s Fund, UNICEF, has identified six states in Nigeria, comprising of Lagos, Sokoto, Katsina, Yobe, Zamfara and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, as states most severely affected with Diphtheria outbreak, adding tha the states represent over 98 per cent of suspected cases.
This was disclosed by UNICEF’s Representative in Nigeria, Ms. Cristian Munduate, recently in Katsina, where she pointed out that majority of the victims of the disease are children.
According to Munduate, over 71 per cent of the cases occurring in the states mentioned were mostly among children between 2 and 14 years of age, stressing that the organization was doing all it could to stop the outbreak of the disease and stop it from spreading.
- She said: “UNICEF Nigeria is amplifying its efforts to counter a growing outbreak of diphtheria that has affected children in 27 states. As of July 2023, 3,850 suspected cases were reported with 1,387 confirmed as diphtheria. The disease has tragically claimed 122 lives, with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 8.7 per cent.
- “The outbreak has affected mainly Kano, Yobe, Katsina, Lagos, FCT, Sokoto, and Zamfara, which account for 98.0 per cent of the suspected cases.
- Most confirmed cases, approximately 71.5 per cent, have occurred among children aged 2 – 14 years.”
Munduate called for an urgent need of vaccination among children who have not yet been vaccinated, noting that cases of diphtheria were more prevalent among this category of children.
To this end, the UNICEF Country Representative assured that the organization was making efforts towards providing laboratory consumables and biosafety cabinets for the testing of suspected cases of the disease as well as support and finance risk communication and community engagement initiatives among others.
Diphtheria is a serious infection caused by strains of bacteria called Corynebacterium diphtheriae that make toxin. It can lead to difficulty breathing, heart rhythm problems, and even death. CDC recommends vaccines for infants, children, teens, and adults to prevent diphtheria.
The disease has reportedly killed over 122 children in Nigeria
