More than 100 confirmed cases of diphtheria infection are presently recieving treatment at two newly isolation centres in Kano.
The Guardian reliably confirmed in a report, and also stated that although, there were unconfirmed source indicating over 130 persons are presently on isolation in about four treatment centres, there were not official information to assert such.
However, latest development officially gathered revealed the near deadly disease has now spread widely covering 31 local government areas, of the total 44 even. This is even as Kano state battles large scale zero dose of immunization, United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) disclosed.
Diphtheria, is a serious infection caused by strains of bacteria called Corynebacterium diphtheriae that make a toxin that causes sickness. The bacteria spread from person to person, through respiratory droplets like coughing and sneezing. Medical experts believed diphtheria can easily manage with full doze of immunization and adherent to basic hygienic practice.
Experts say the likelihood spread especially among people include those sharing household with effected persons, people with a history of frequent close contact or directly exposed to secretions from the suspected infection site of the patient.
Although, efforts to ascertain the current mortality rate of diphtheria with the recent spread in Kano was not successful, available data on the website of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) indicated that 76 deaths were recorded among confirmed cases of diphtheria between May and June, 2023 in the state.
Similarly, the NCDC data shows between same period ( May-June 2023), Kano recorded 2,171 suspected cases of which 819 confirmed positive. Kano has the highest cases, next to Yobe 95; Katsina 61; Lagos 29; FCT 22 among other 24 states currently under the infection, NCDC revealed.
Confirming the update of the outbreak to journalists yesterday in Kano, the state Epidemiologist, Kano state Ministry of Health, Dr. Abdullahi Kaura-Matta revealed that over 2,000 cases have been managed and discharged since the outbreak surfaced December, 2022.
Although, Kaura-Matta who disclosed the increasing cases and growing spread in the state said government has established two treatment centres for effective management and contain further spread of the contiguous infection.
Aside the activation of the isolation centres, the Chief epidemiology explained that reinforcement of contact tracing team, was also put in place to search for persons who might have had contact with confirmed cases.
Although the United Nations Children Fund, recently raised concern on the alarming rate of zero dose immunization in Kano with about 300,000 children with out access to vaccination, Dr. Kaura-Matta stressed that government is renewing DPT ( diphtheria toxin-containing vaccine) and other infections immunization campaign, to manage the outbreak.
He equally attributed the resurgence of the disease to the high impact and resultant effect of COVID-19, a global health burden that exposed the near collapse of the nation’s health system.
” If you can recall, COVID-19 brought almost social and economic development to a stand still. Health system and indeed the provisions of immunization was not an exception. Through out the lockdown, there was no immunization going on that gave raised to missing dose of vaccination.
” Besides that, the attitude of parents towards immunization is another major cause of the resurrection of diphtheria infection in Kano. Despite the available of the vaccines, for reasons best known to some of the parents, they reject the immunization. Yet campaign and series of sensitization on the safety of the vaccine is constantly ongoing on media”. Dr. Kaura-Matta emphasized.
