Diphtheria kills 17 in Niger as 124 cases recorded in seven months

No less than 17 persons person died from diphtheria successful Niger State successful the past 7 months, with 124 cases recorded successful Bida, Suleja and Shiroro section authorities areas of the state.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr Murtala Muhammad Bagana, who made this disclosure during a property league successful Minna, said a full of 103 patients had been treated and discharged.

He explained that 3 caller cases had precocious been identified, with 1 diligent presently connected admission, conscionable arsenic the authorities has intensified surveillance, lawsuit management, immunisation and nationalist consciousness to incorporate the outbreak successful the state.

Speaking connected the outbreak, the Director of Disease Control and Immunisation, Dr Samuel Jiya, blamed mediocre vaccination sum arsenic a large origin liable for the outbreak, portion informing that children who miss oregon neglect to implicit their regular immunisation stay peculiarly vulnerable.

Jiya disclosed that investigations person revealed that immoderate affected children had received lone 1 dose of the pentavalent vaccine, portion others, including those aged 9 and 10, had ne'er been vaccinated.

According to him, “Anywhere you spot a diphtheria outbreak, it means a kid has not completed that vaccination oregon has not had entree to it.