Health officials report that diphtheria has killed 80 persons in the country of West Africa.
On Thursday, a month after the disease claimed the life of a 4-year-old in the nation’s capital, Abuja, the Nigerian health officials announced a diphtheria outbreak.
According to a statement from the Nigeria Center for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), there have been numerous outbreaks around the nation since late last year, with 798 confirmed cases reported as of June.
The NCDC reported: “Among all confirmed cases to date, a total of 80 deaths have been recorded.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that the highly contagious disease known as diphtheria is brought on by a bacterial toxin that can cause breathing problems, issues with heart rhythm, and even death.
According to Nigeria’s health ministry, it is “a vaccine-preventable disease covered by one of the vaccines provided routinely through Nigeria’s childhood immunization schedule.”
According to the report, kids between the ages of two and 14 made up the majority of confirmed cases.
Even though there is “availability of a safe and economical
The majority of afflicted patients are not protected by the national vaccine, according to this statement.
Healthcare professionals have been told to quickly alert disease surveillance officers about suspicious instances and have been asked to encourage patients to get immunized.
The diphtheria Incident Management System (IMS) is reportedly active and being used by the Health and Human Services Secretariat in Abuja to coordinate efforts related to the outbreak.
