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From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), yesterday, confirmed that 83 deaths rising from Diphtheria have been recorded from 26 states.
It also predicted that more deaths would be recorded particularly among children.
NPHCDA Executive Director, Dr. Faisal Shuaib, told journalists at a press conference in Abuja, that some measures have been activated by the agency and its partners to arrest the growing spread of the disease, which, it restated, was preventable through vaccination.
“From May 2022 to July 2023, an estimated 2,455 suspected cases were reported in 26 states, and as of July 27, 2023, 836 of the cases were confirmed in 33 LGAs across 8 states, namely, Cross River, Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, Lagos, Osun, Yobe, and FCT. Tragically, 83 deaths were reported from the confirmed cases, making vaccination against this deadly disease critically important, especially for our children.” The NPHCDA boss, however, highlighted that a comprehensive response plan had been activated to detect cases early, contain the spread, and prevent further transmission through a multi-phased strategy.
“In collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health, NCDC, the States and partners, we would facilitate immediate response plan by leveraging surveillance data from NCDC and direct information from the states to ensure effective planning and resource deployment.
“We would work closely with partners to ensure adequate supplies of Tetanus Td for children 4 to 14 years and Pentavalent vaccines for children under four years. We would collaborate with the affected state teams and other stakeholders to conduct intensified mass vaccinations for identified at-risk populations in the affected states, administering pentavalent and tetanus & diphtheria vaccines.
“Additionally, we would conduct awareness campaigns to educate the people about the disease, its symptoms, and preventive measures. The response to the ongoing diphtheria outbreak will be carried out in two phases. First is the immediate response in 25 Local Government Areas (LGAs) across four States: Bauchi, Katsina, Yobe, and Kaduna, while the second phase is scheduled to begin on the 7th of August, 2023 and will continue until the 11th of August, 2023.
“The second Phase will cover outbreak response in 171 LGAs. Six states (Kano, Katsina, FCT, Yobe, Kaduna, and Bauchi) will have a statewide outbreak response, while there will be targeted outbreak responses in LGAs across eight States: Jigawa (8 LGAs), Borno (4), Osun (4), Lagos (3), Zamfara (3), Gombe (3), Plateau (1), and Nasarawa (1). “This phase is planned to be conducted in three rounds. The first round will commence on 21st August 2023, followed by the second and third rounds tentatively set for 18th September, 2023, and 16th October, 2023, respectively. Each of these three rounds will span five days,” he said.
WHO Country Representative, Dr. Walter Mulombo, confirmed that WHO team is on ground in Yobe and Kano states, improving surveillance at health facility and community level, supporting active case search and the decentralized isolation centres and referral to the state reference treatment centres, in alignment of state ministry of health request and NCDC guidance.
