No fewer than 17 persons have died from diphtheria in Niger State in the last seven months, with 124 cases recorded in Bida, Suleja and Shiroro local government areas of the state.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr Murtala Muhammad Bagana, who made this disclosure during a press conference in Minna, said a total of 103 patients had been treated and discharged.
He explained that three new cases had recently been identified, with one patient currently on admission, just as the government has intensified surveillance, case management, immunisation and public awareness to contain the outbreak in the state.
Speaking on the outbreak, the Director of Disease Control and Immunisation, Dr Samuel Jiya, blamed poor vaccination coverage as a major factor responsible for the outbreak, while warning that children who miss or fail to complete their routine immunisation remain particularly vulnerable.
Jiya disclosed that investigations have revealed that some affected children had received only one dose of the pentavalent vaccine, while others, including those aged nine and 10, had never been vaccinated.
According to him, “Anywhere you see a diphtheria outbreak, it means a child has not completed that vaccination or has not had access to it.
“The pentavalent vaccine is administered at six, 10 and 14 weeks and is critical to protecting children against diphtheria and other vaccine-preventable diseases.
“Vaccine refusal does not only endanger individual children but could expose entire communities to preventable disease outbreaks.”
Jiya also linked the immunisation gaps to migration, vaccine myths and cultural beliefs which contributed largely to vaccine refusal in the state.
He said pregnant women were also receiving Tetanus-Diphtheria vaccines during antenatal care to protect newborns during their early weeks of life.
On measles, Jiya said infections had declined in the state, with 31 cases recorded this year out of which nine tested positive and were treated, while two deaths were recorded.
