According to the NCDC, there have been a total of 4,160 suspected cases reported from 27 states, spanning 139 Local Government Areas across Nigeria.

The NCDC shared this information in a comprehensive diphtheria report spanning from May 2022 to July 2023, which was made available on its official website.

The confirmed cases were distributed across various Local Government Areas, with Kano (1,207), Yobe (252), Bauchi (41), Katsina (nine), Lagos (eight), FCT (six), and Kaduna (five) being the main contributors.

Kano (3,233), Yobe (477), Katsina (132), Kaduna (101), Bauchi (54), FCT (41), and Lagos (30) collectively account for nearly 98% of the suspected cases.

The report outlined, “Out of the 4,160 suspected cases reported, 1,534 (36.9%) were confirmed (87 through laboratory confirmation, 158 epidemiologically linked, and 1,289 clinically compatible), 1,700 (40.9%) were ruled out, 639 (15.4%) are awaiting classification, and 287 (6.9%) are unknown.”

Among these confirmed cases, 66.4% occurred in children aged one to 14 years, with a total of 137 fatalities (case fatality rate of 8.9%).

Among the confirmed cases, 81.9% were individuals who were not fully vaccinated against diphtheria.

Diphtheria, an ailment caused by the bacteria Corynebacterium diphtheriae, can be prevented through vaccination.

This disease is covered by routine childhood immunization schedules in Nigeria.