Deaths From Diaphtheria Outbreak On The Rise, Hits 122 Since January
The death toll from the deadly disease, diphtheria in Nigeria has risen to 122 as at this month.
The UN children fund (UNICEF) in a statement issued in Bauchi, said the deaths were recorded from 3,850 suspected cases in 27 states.
UNICE representatives in Nigeria, Christine Munduate, said 1,387 out of the 3,850 suspected cases were confirmed positive.
The states topping the list of suspected cases are Kano, Lagos, Sokoto, Yobe, Katsina, and Zamfara, as well as federal capital territory.
The UNICEF representatives said 78 per cent of the confirmed cases were those who missed the routine childhood immunization vaccine during the covid 19 lockdown.
The statement quoted UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, Ms. Cristian Munduate, as saying: “It’s heartbreaking to note that only 22 % of the confirmed cases received their routine childhood immunisation vaccinations.
“Most of these affected children, especially those who unfortunately passed away, had not received a single dose of the vaccine. The need to reach the unreached has never been more critical.”
According to the statement, in response to the outbreak, UNICEF is closely collaborating with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, the affected States, and the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, providing technical support to plan and operationalise the response.
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It said that UNICEF’s commitment extends to several key interventions, including planning, implementing, and funding risk communication and community engagement activities, transporting vaccines and related equipment to the affected states and strengthening routine immunisation and training health workers and volunteers for service delivery, risk communication, and community engagement.
It added that it is supervising outbreak response activities, procuring and supplying face masks, hand sanitisers, and antibiotics to treat diphtheria, and supplying laboratory consumables and biosafety cabinets for testing of suspected cases at the NCDC.
The statement further quoted Ms. Munduate as emphasizing the pressing need to reach children who had missed out on their vaccines due to the COVID-19 lockdown.
“Many children did not receive their vaccines during the COVID-19 lockdown,” she said. “We now urgently need to catch up. These ‘zero-dose’ children, those who haven’t received a single dose of vaccine, are a primary concern.”
According to the statement, in light of these sobering statistics, UNICEF Nigeria urged all parents and guardians to ensure their children and wards received routine immunisations to protect them from preventable diseases like diphtheria assuring that the agency will continue to intensify efforts to address the ongoing outbreak and work alongside the government to achieve a healthier, safer future for every Nigerian child.
