The National Primary Health Care Department Agency (NPHCDA) says 20 persons have been confirmed dead of the 156 cases of Diphtheria in Kaduna state.
The Agency’s Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Faisal Shuaib, also Co-Chair of the Federal Task Team on Diphtheria, made the disclosure during an assessment visit to Kaduna on Wednesday.
Dr Shuaib said they were at the Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital, Kaduna, to assess the situation of the diphtheria outbreak that affected part of the state.
According to Shuaib, Kaduna is ranked among the seven states with the highest diphtheria. They say they were at the Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital, where mild to moderate cases are being attended to before being admitted to the infectious disease hospitals.
The Executive Director noted that since March, when the diphtheria outbreak was detected in Kaduna, 156 cases and about 20 deaths were recorded, stressing that is high for diphtheria and recognized that most of the patients are presented lately.
“There is also a need for the media to step up in creating awareness and providing useful information to the public about the existence of the disease.”