Diphtheria kills 137, infects 1,534 persons in 11 states – NCDC

Diphtheria kills 137, infects 1,534 persons in 11 states – NCDC

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) says Nigeria recorded 1,534 confirmed cases and 137 deaths from diphtheria between May 2022 and July this year.

In its latest diphtheria report released Tuesday, the organization said the confirmed cases were recorded across 11 states.

The report said a total of 4,160 suspected cases have been reported from 27 states across 139 local government areas in the country.

It said Kano (3,233), Yobe (477), Katsina (132), Kaduna (101), Bauchi (54), Federal Capital Territory (41) and Lagos (30) accounted for 97.8% of the suspected cases.

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The report said the confirmed cases were distributed across 56 local government areas in 11 states.

“Majority (66.4%) of the confirmed cases occurred in children aged 1 – 14 years.

“Out of the 1,534 confirmed cases reported, 1,257 (81.9%) were not fully vaccinated against diphtheria,” it said

“The report also said in the month of July this year alone a total of 1,506 suspected cases were reported from 59 local government areas in 11 states across the country.

“Of the 1,506 suspected cases reported, 579 (38.5%) were confirmed (29 lab confirmed; While a total of 39 deaths were recorded among all confirmed cases,” the report said

Diphtheria kills 137, infects 1,534 persons in 11 states – NCDC