Zamfara records diphtheria 44 deaths, extends school resumption
The Zamfara State Ministry of Health has recorded 44 deaths from an outbreak of diphtheria in parts of the state. The State Director of Public Health in the ministry, Dr Yusuf Haske, disclosed this in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Gusau on Monday. Haske said the ministry had so […]
In Zamfara State, Nigeria, 44 deaths have been recorded due to a deadly outbreak of diphtheria, prompting the rescheduling of school reopenings. Dr Yusuf Haske, the State Director of Public Health, reported that 367 clinically suspected cases have been identified, with over 320 patients successfully treated and discharged. All patients were sent to the National Reference Laboratory in Abuja for confirmation, which ultimately confirmed the presence of the diphtheria-causing organism.
In response to the outbreak, the Ministry of Health, under Governor Dauda Lawal's directive, activated an Incident Management System and mobilized state and local government rapid response teams. Isolation centers for treatment have been established in general hospitals and Gusau Local Government Area, which recorded the highest number of cases, has four treatment centers.
The Ministry of Health advises schools to extend resumption by two weeks to strengthen disease surveillance, contact tracing, vaccination verification, public sensitization, and other preventive measures. Health officials are urging residents to cooperate with them and report suspected cases to the provided contact channels.
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