Diphtheria Outbreak Claims 20 As Kaduna Records 156 Cases — NPHCDA

Kadul National Primary Health Care Department Agency, NPHCDA, has said 20 persons have died of diphtheria in Kaduna State, even as the agency also confirmed 156 cases of the disease in the state.

The Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Agency and Co-Chairman of the Federal Task Team on Diphtheria, Dr. Faisal Shuaib, told journalists, after he visited the Kaduna Diphtheria Treatment Centre, that they were at the Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital to assess the situation of the diphtheria outbreak that affected parts of Kaduna state.

“Kaduna is ranked among the seven states with the high number of diphtheria. We are at the Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital where mild to moderate cases are being attended to before being admitted to the infectious disease hospitals,” he said.

He said since March when the diphtheria outbreak was detected in Kaduna, 150 cases and about 20 deaths were recorded.

“That is high for diphtheria, but we also recognize that most of the patients are presented lately. There is also need for the media to step up in creating awareness and providing useful information to the public about existence of the disease.

Diphtheria is a preventable disease about 80 per cent of those afflicted by the diseases did not presented themselves for vaccination,” he added.

The Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr Faisal Shuaibu, has said that an outbreak of diphtheria infection claimed 20 lives of children in Kaduna State.

This was just as Shuaibu, also the Co-Chairman of the Presidential Task Force Team on Diphtheria, said a total of 156 cases of the deadly infection have been recorded in the state so far.

The NPHCDA boss spoke with journalists shortly after assessing the Kaduna Diphtheria Treatment Centre at Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital in the state capital on Wednesday.