THE Ministry of Health has revealed that the outbreak of diphtheria is highly likely to expand to 171 local government districts in 14 states across the nation.
Olufunsho Adebiyi, the ministry’s permanent secretary, outlined that the 144 local government areas in the states of Kano, Katsina, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Yobe, Kaduna, and Bauchi were all included in the 171 LGAs.
Other states include Lagos and Osun states, seven local government areas, Gombe, Jigawa, Borno, Nasarawa, Plateau, and Zamfara, all of which have 20 infectious local government areas.
He added that the ministry was mobilizing all the resources required to properly address the outbreak in coordination with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), states, and partners.
According to him, a thorough reaction strategy, has been launched to guarantee early case discovery and containment as well as the prevention of future transmission through a multi-phased response approach.
He also noted that the alliance planned to intensify mass vaccination of the groups identified as being at risk in order to stop the ongoing diphtheria outbreak in two phases. He revealed further that diphtheria affects individuals of all ages, especially children who are not immune to the disease.
This disease is characterized by signs and symptoms, which include fever, cough, runny nose, sore throat, neck swelling and difficulty breathing.
If left untreated, he explained that the signs and symptoms could eventually lead to death; and the risk of death is higher in partially vaccinated/unvaccinated children.
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