The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has reported 798 cases of diphtheria in eight states, spanning 33 Local Government Areas within the country.
As of June 30, 2023, the death toll has increased to 80, resulting in a case-fatality ratio of 10%.
The National Centre for Disease Control announced this information in a press release which was signed the Director General of the NCDC, Dr. Ifedayo Adetifa on Thursday.
This announcement came after the first confirmed case of diphtheria was reported in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
On Monday, the Federal Capital Territory Administration reported the death of a four-year-old child in the Deidei District of the FCT due to the disease.
The NCDC, on the other hand, stated that the FCT Health and Human Services Secretariat has activated the diphtheria Incident Management System in order to coordinate epidemic response actions.
As of July 3, 2023, the FCT has only one confirmed case, with seven suspected cases testing negative and others awaiting laboratory findings.
Diphtheria cases have been reported in Kano, Lagos, Yobe, Katsina, Cross River, Kaduna, Osun, and the FCT since December 2022, according to the public health institute.
“The majority (71.7 per cent) of the 798 confirmed cases occurred among children aged two to 14 years. So far, a total of 80 deaths have been recorded among all confirmed cases (case fatality rate of 10.0 per cent),” it said.
Diphtheria is a vaccine-preventable disease caused by a toxin produced by the bacteria Corynebacterium diphtheriae. It is covered by one of the vaccines usually offered through Nigeria’s childhood immunisation programme.
Despite the availability of a safe and cost-effective vaccination in the country, 82% of the 798 confirmed diphtheria cases in the existing outbreak were unvaccinated, according to the NCDC.
“Unfortunately, this also includes this recently announced FCT case. Historical sub-optimal vaccination coverage is the main driver of the outbreak given the most affected age group (two-14-year-olds) observed, and a national survey of diphtheria immunity that found less than half (41.7 per cent) of children under 15 years old are fully protected from diphtheria.
“Just like in other States reporting cases, we are working with the FCT Health and Human Services Department to implement control measures and avert the further spread of the disease,” the agency noted.
