Deadly throat disease kills 61 people in Kano
A diphtheria outbreak has claimed 61 lives in Kano State as of March 2, 2023.
Kano State Case Manager, Dr. Salma Suwaid revealed this on Monday during a webinar hosted by the Nigeria Center for Disease Control and Prevention on the topic " Diphtheria outbreak in Nigeria: response to vaccination".
Suwaid also said a total of 783 patients have been admitted so far. Of these, 360 were women and 423 were men.
Diphtheria is a serious bacterial infection caused by bacteria called Corynebacterium species that affects an individual's nose, throat, and sometimes skin.
Diphtheria spreads easily between people through direct contact with droplets of infected people from coughing or sneezing, and through contact with contaminated clothing and objects.
The ongoing diphtheria epidemic and associated high mortality rate are due to both low vaccination coverage and the absence of diphtheria antitoxin at the start of the epidemic .
So far, infection has been confirmed in Kano, Yobe, Lagos, Osun and Katsina states.
Suwaid, who is also a consultant pediatrician, noted that the average length of stay for patients is four days.
“Eighty-three% of deaths occurred in patients whose symptoms appeared more than three days and an average of 15 days from admission.
“Sixty-eight percent of patients were discharged, 1.66% fled, and 12.2% died. »
On the preliminary assessment of the patients, she said that the space, which is dedicated to triage, is sufficiently staffed and equipped with the necessary equipment for resuscitations.
"Crowd control personnel are stationed, suspected cases are identified, cases are categorized according to severity, swabs are taken, and all health workers adhere to safety measures. "
The pediatrician added that there is a need to strengthen surveillance to ensure early detection of diseases important to public health in order to mitigate their spread at an early stage.
Also speaking, Dr Adejoke Oladele of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency said the majority of confirmed cases of diphtheria in the country are in children between the ages of 2 and 14.
She said the agency is responding with vaccinations and routine vaccinations in at-risk states.
In his remarks, NCDC Director General Dr. Ifedayo Adetifa said most of the confirmed cases of infection were unvaccinated or under-vaccinated.
"It is important, however, to document specific cases of diphtheria so that we can share them and it becomes constant reference material," he said.
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A diphtheria outbreak has claimed 61 lives in Kano State as of March 2, 2023.
Kano State Case Manager, Dr. Salma Suwaid revealed this on Monday during a webinar hosted by the Nigeria Center for Disease Control and Prevention on the topic " Diphtheria outbreak in Nigeria: response to vaccination".
Suwaid also said a total of 783 patients have been admitted so far. Of these, 360 were women and 423 were men.
Diphtheria is a serious bacterial infection caused by bacteria called Corynebacterium species that affects an individual's nose, throat, and sometimes skin.
Diphtheria spreads easily between people through direct contact with droplets of infected people from coughing or sneezing, and through contact with contaminated clothing and objects.
The ongoing diphtheria epidemic and associated high mortality rate are due to both low vaccination coverage and the absence of diphtheria antitoxin at the start of the epidemic .
So far, infection has been confirmed in Kano, Yobe, Lagos, Osun and Katsina states.
Suwaid, who is also a consultant pediatrician, noted that the average length of stay for patients is four days.
“Eighty-three% of deaths occurred in patients whose symptoms appeared more than three days and an average of 15 days from admission.
“Sixty-eight percent of patients were discharged, 1.66% fled, and 12.2% died. »
On the preliminary assessment of the patients, she said that the space, which is dedicated to triage, is sufficiently staffed and equipped with the necessary equipment for resuscitations.
"Crowd control personnel are stationed, suspected cases are identified, cases are categorized according to severity, swabs are taken, and all health workers adhere to safety measures. "
The pediatrician added that there is a need to strengthen surveillance to ensure early detection of diseases important to public health in order to mitigate their spread at an early stage.
Also speaking, Dr Adejoke Oladele of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency said the majority of confirmed cases of diphtheria in the country are in children between the ages of 2 and 14.
She said the agency is responding with vaccinations and routine vaccinations in at-risk states.
In his remarks, NCDC Director General Dr. Ifedayo Adetifa said most of the confirmed cases of infection were unvaccinated or under-vaccinated.
"It is important, however, to document specific cases of diphtheria so that we can share them and it becomes constant reference material," he said.
Please share this story:
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