Bauchi State authorities have confirmed 26 deaths in the state, resulting from confirmed cases of diphtheria, a contagious disease that primarily affects children.
The announcement follows an earlier disclosure of an outbreak of this fever-like ailment earlier this year. Since its index case, reports of diphtheria outbreaks have emerged across various regions of northern Nigeria.
An official of the State Ministry of Health, in a conversation with Premium Times, on Saturday said that the situation had reached an alarming stage and all efforts to curb the menace had been put in place.
GOOD EVENING NIGERIA reports that as of July 2023, 3,850 suspected cases were reported with 1,387 confirmed as diphtheria in 27 states. The disease has tragically claimed 122 lives, with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 8.7%.
The outbreak has affected mainly Kano, Yobe, Katsina, Lagos, FCT, Sokoto, and Zamfara, which account for 98.0% of the suspected cases. But most confirmed cases, approximately 71.5%, have occurred among children aged 2 – 14 years.
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Speaking on measures to mitigate the Bauchi, the executive chairman of Bauchi State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (BASPHCDA), Rilwanu Mohammed, said the state government is doing everything possible to put an end to the disease.
Mr Mohammed stated this at the USAID Integrated Health Programme (USAID-IHP) one-day media engagement on the 2023 Bauchi state budget performance held on Thursday in Bauchi.
“Out of the number of deaths, four were confirmed diphtheria cases while the remaining 22 were signs, symptoms and complications of diphtheria following the results of the tests conducted”, he added.
He further explained that so far, 180 suspected cases had been recorded across the state. The cases are being investigated further.
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“A total of 180 suspected cases were reported in local government areas of the state, seven of which are from Bauchi, Dambam 32, Darazo 2, Itas Gadau 5, Jamaáre 104, Katagum 17, Misau 9, Ganjuwa 1, Giade 1, and Ningi 1 respectively.
“Of the 180 suspected cases reported, seven (3.9%) were lab confirmed and 166 were clinically compatible, 26 deaths were recorded among suspected and confirmed cases.
“10 local government areas reported at least a case totalling 180 suspected cases in Bauchi State, Jamaáre local government area accounted for 57 of the diphtheria cases”, Mr Mohammed said.
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Mr Muhammed said the ages of the suspected and confirmed cases were between one and 55 years, while two deaths were recorded among the seven confirmed cases.
According to Premium Times, the current crisis epicentre in the state is Jamaáre Local Government.
An official said the state governor, Bala Mohammed, had instructed the ministry and the agency concerned to take necessary actions to stop the disease from spreading.