Nigeria faces a severe diphtheria outbreak, claiming 600 lives, mostly children, surpassing the 2011 incident with only 98 cases.
Kano state, in the north, is at the heart of this crisis, reporting over 500 deaths, but active cases are now decreasing.
Diphtheria is highly contagious, impacting the nose, throat, and skin, often fatal, transmitted through coughs, sneezes, and close contact.
Tragically, many affected children were unvaccinated. Dr. Faisal Shuaib, head of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, stressed diphtheria’s preventable nature during a visit to a Kano isolation center.
“Witnessing the young children suffering from this entirely preventable disease at the center today was profoundly heart-wrenching.”
As of September 24, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has recorded 453 fatalities and 11,587 suspected cases. The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that the actual fatality and infection rates may be higher due to limited testing and unreported symptoms, but measures like contact tracing have led to a drop in case numbers.
This dire outbreak has impacted 19 out of Nigeria’s 36 states and the federal capital, Abuja, hitting northern states the hardest, including Kano, Yobe, Katsina, Borno, Jigawa, and Kaduna.
Health authorities are urging parents to ensure unvaccinated or partially vaccinated children receive immunization, emphasizing its vital role in managing the crisis.
The WHO points out that only 57% of Nigerians have received the pentavalent vaccine, which protects against five life-threatening diseases, including diphtheria. To prevent future diphtheria outbreaks, Nigeria must increase vaccination coverage to reach at least 80% of the population, according to the WHO.
The last significant diphtheria outbreak in the country occurred in 2011, with 21 deaths and 98 infections in Borno state, as reported by the WHO.