The death toll from Diphtheria disease across the country as 34, with 100 registered cases in Kano State alone.
In a report published on its website on Sunday, the NCDC said that the deaths were between December 2022 and early January 2023, from Lagos, Kano, Yobe and Osun states.
With Kano State alone had 25 deaths within this period, the agency also blamed the increase in the infection and resurgence on the low vaccination coverage across the country.
The NCDC report stated, “The fact that we are having a resurgence of diphtheria now suggests that there have been critical reductions in vaccination coverage among pockets of our population.
“This reduced level of population immunity has given rise to the cases that we are seeing.
“It is not a matter of diphtheria spreading from state to state, the bacteria that causes the disease is present everywhere in our environment.
“Any state where you find diphtheria now, you are likely to find that it will be associated with suboptimal vaccination coverage, either in general or in pockets of the population.”
Meanwhile, the identified cases of diphtheria in Kano have risen from 25 to 100 in less than two weeks, with three persons in 13 local government areas of the state dead.
The local government areas where the diseases are ravaging include Ungogo, Nassarawa, Bichi, Dala, Dawakin Kudu, Fagge, Gwale, Kano Municipal, Kumbotso, Rano, Dawakin Tofa and Gwarzo.
Out of the 100 cases, the state health ministry said eight were confirmed, while awaiting more results. Three among the eight have also been confirmed dead and 22 among other suspected cases.
Diphtheria is a vaccine-preventable disease that was common decades ago, however, with the effectiveness of childhood vaccinations, diphtheria had long lost its deadly dread.
