2,455 cases of diphtheria, 83 deaths recorded in 14 months
Walter Kazadi Mulombo
About 2,455 suspected cases of diphtheria and 83 deaths have been reported in 26 states from May 2022 to July 2023. To curb the disease, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has concluded plans to deliver 1,800 vials of Diphtheria Antitoxin (DAT) to the country.
WHO Country Representative, Walter Mulombo, who disclosed this, yesterday, at a press briefing organised by National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) in Abuja, stated that Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) requested the organisation to procure DAT and Erythromycin IV for diphtheria case management.
According to him, the 1,800 vials of DAT are expected to arrive in the country on August 2, and erythromycin within two weeks, pending government authorisation.
“These health commodities are essential for saving lives, thus the need to be prepositioned in Nigeria and ready to be deployed to the states in need,” he said.
Mulombo noted that the NCDC recently requested support from WHO for the deployment of 18 rapid response teams to support response in Bauchi, Kaduna and Katsina states, adding that the deployment process is underway following the requested profile and a mix of the workforce from the Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Programme (NFELTP), and WHO staff.
The WHO team, he said, is on the ground in Yobe and Kano states to improve surveillance at the health facility and community level, supporting the active case search and supporting the decentralised isolation centres and referral to the state reference treatment centres.
With N92 million WHO, The Guardian gathered, is working with NPHCDA to organise the first phase of vaccination campaign targeting children from zero to 14 years old in four states.
The United Nations (UN) agency official warned: “If we don’t get it right, antimicrobial resistance will be the next pandemic because of the way we use antibiotics.”
Executive Director of NPHCDA, Dr. Faisal Shuaib, disclosed that as of July 27, 2023, 836 cases of diphtheria had been confirmed in 33 local councils across eight states of Cross River, Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, Lagos, Osun, Yobe and Federal Capital Territory (FCT), adding that 83 deaths were reported. He lamented that there were still unvaccinated children, despite the availability of vaccines in the country’s routine immunisation schedule.
