Muhammad Garba
No fewer than 10 children were suspected killed by the Diphtheria disease as 91 cases were reported from 14 local government areas of Jigawa state.
The Permanent Secretary Jigawa State Ministry of Health Dr. Sa’lisu Mu’azu confirmed this while fielding questions from newsmen on the Diphtheria outbreak in the state.
He explained that out of the 91 suspected cases, 2 were confirmed while results of other samples are under waiting.
Dr Muazu added that’ the state ministry of health has already mobilized teams of health workers to the affected area, and they have already lay-listened the area for micro immunization.
All the contacts and other children in the affected area will be given immunization as part of a campaign to mitigate the scourge of the disease which is one of the child killer diseases.
According to the PS, the state ministry has already informed the National Primary Healthcare Agency (NPHCA) and the National Commission For Disease Control (NCDC) of their intervention.
“We have submitted reports to NCDC and NPHC and any moment from now they will release the required vaccine dosage that we will use for a special round in the identified area.
Dr. Muazu related the disease outbreak to the Covid-19 pandemic during which many children received zero dosage of immunization as a result of the breakdown of healthcare services in that period.
Medicine Sen Frontier (MSF) has recently raised alarm over long protocols in accessing the Diphtheria vaccine and drugs, saying that, such protocols and delays may aggravate the situation and lead to more casualties.
The MSF country Director Mrs Pamela Akko raised the alarm during a courtesy visit to Jigawa state governor Malam Umar Namadi and urged him and other state governors to intervene to make the vaccine and drugs timely available and accessible.
