Diphtheria, a fatal disease that has killed at least sixty-one (61) individuals since it first emerged a few weeks ago, has caused alarm in Kano State.
According to what is known, the nose, throat, and occasionally the skin of an individual are all affected by the serious bacterial infection known as diphtheria, which is brought on by the Corynebacterium species.
The Nigeria Center for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) issued a public health advisory in January with the title “Diptheria epidemic in Nigeria: Vaccination Response” to inform Nigerians of the virus outbreak.
A total of 783 patients have been admitted thus far, the state case manager for Kano State, Dr. Salma Suwaid, revealed to reporters during a webinar hosted by the NCDC on Monday. She was providing an update on the disease’s progress since the first record in Kano State.
He claimed that 423 men and 360 women were present. The patients’ typical hospital stay is four days, according to Suwaid, a pediatrician and consultant.
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According to him, 83% of patients who died had been hospitalized for an average of 15 days and more than three days before their symptoms first appeared.
“68% of the patients were discharged, 1.66 % eluded capture, and 12.2 % died.”
Regarding the initial evaluation of patients, she claimed that the triage area has the right number of employees and resuscitation tools.
“Crowd control personnel are stationed, suspicious cases are detected, cases are classified according to severity, swabs are taken, and all healthcare staff comply to safety procedures,” She stated, adding that DAT administration is done just once as early as feasible.
“Because DAT is derived from horses, there is a chance of mild reaction and a common danger of rare but severe anaphylactic reaction. In order to reduce the dangers, various actions are taken. Suwaid emphasized the first requirement, which is that DAT must be administered in a hospital setting.
In order to stop diseases from spreading at an early stage, the pediatrician noted that surveillance needs to be strengthened to ensure early diagnosis of diseases that are important for public health.
The National Primary Health Care Development Agency’s Dr. Adejoke Oladele noted during the webinar that children between the ages of two and fourteen made up the majority of verified cases of diphtheria in the nation.
In at-risk states, she continued, the CDC is responding with routine immunizations and vaccinations. Dr. Ifedayo Adetifa, Director-General of the NCDC, also gave a speech in which he stated that the majority of verified cases of the virus are either unvaccinated or inadequately immunized.
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Nonetheless, he added, it was crucial to record unusual diphtheria cases so that we could discuss them and use them as a continuing source of information.
Indirect contact with infected individuals, droplets from coughing or sneezing, and contact with contaminated objects and clothing are all known to contribute to the rapid spread of diphtheria amongst individuals.
Low levels of immunization and a lack of diphtheria antitoxin during the early stages of the epidemic were the main causes of the continuous diphtheria outbreak and the high case fatality rate that went along with it.
Yobe, Lagos, Osun, Katsina, Kano, and Yobe states have all received official confirmation of the infection thus far.
