LEADERSHIP
Amidst concern over the spread of Diphtheria disease, the federal government said yesterday that Nigeria has recorded 453 casualties and 11,587 cases in 19 states of the federation.
Of the suspected cases, 7,202 were confirmed from 105 local government areas (LGAs) in 19 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
A breakdown of the figure showed that Kano State accounted for 6,185, Yobe (640), Katsina (213), Borno (95), Kaduna (16), Jigawa (14), Bauchi (8), Lagos (8), FCT (5), Gombe (5), Osun (3), Sokoto (3), Niger (2), Cross River (1), Enugu (1), Imo (1), Nasarawa (1) and Zamfara (1).
The figures were revealed yesterday by the executive director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr Faisal Shuaib, during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
Shuaib noted that 5,299 or 73.6 percent of the confirmed cases occurred among children aged one year to 14 years with those aged five -14 bearing most of the brunt of the disease.
He said, “So far, a total of 453 deaths have occurred in confirmed cases, giving a case fatality rate (CFR) of 6.3 per cent.”
Shuaib said the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare was aware of the mounting concern on the Diphtheria outbreak in several states with over 11,587 suspected cases
He said since the confirmation of the re-emergence of diphtheria, the federal government had continued to respond to the outbreaks across different states.
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