Mary Wilson
Well-known member
13 September 2023
Situation at a glance
Since epidemiological week 26, ending 2 July 2023, Nigeria has recorded an unusual increase in cases of diphtheria across several states. From 30 June to 31 August 2023, a total of 5898 suspected cases were reported from 59 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in 11 states. In week 34 (ending 27 August 2023), 234 suspected cases have been reported from 20 LGAs in five states, with one Lab confirmed case[SUP]1[/SUP] from the 22 samples collected. Eighteen of these cases were epidemiologically linked[SUP] 2[/SUP] and 141 were classified as clinically compatible.
Diphtheria is a highly contagious vaccine-preventable diseasecaused mainly by the bacteria Corynebacterium diphtheriae which can be fatal in 5-10% of cases, with a higher mortality rate in young children.
WHOs most recent risk assessment of the diphtheria outbreak in Nigeria has maintained the risk as high at the national level, and low at the regional and global levels. Public health measures such as vaccination response, enhanced surveillance for early case detection, case management and risk communication coordinated by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), in collaboration with WHO and other partners, are being implemented in response to the outbreak.
Description of the situation
Since the lastDisease Outbreak News on diphtheria in Nigeria was published on 27 April 2023, the country has reported suspected cases of diphtheria weekly to WHO. However, between 30 June and 31 August 2023, Nigeria recorded an unusual increase in the number of confirmed diphtheria cases[SUP]4 [/SUP](figure 1). ...
https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2023-DON485
Situation at a glance
Since epidemiological week 26, ending 2 July 2023, Nigeria has recorded an unusual increase in cases of diphtheria across several states. From 30 June to 31 August 2023, a total of 5898 suspected cases were reported from 59 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in 11 states. In week 34 (ending 27 August 2023), 234 suspected cases have been reported from 20 LGAs in five states, with one Lab confirmed case[SUP]1[/SUP] from the 22 samples collected. Eighteen of these cases were epidemiologically linked[SUP] 2[/SUP] and 141 were classified as clinically compatible.
Diphtheria is a highly contagious vaccine-preventable diseasecaused mainly by the bacteria Corynebacterium diphtheriae which can be fatal in 5-10% of cases, with a higher mortality rate in young children.
WHOs most recent risk assessment of the diphtheria outbreak in Nigeria has maintained the risk as high at the national level, and low at the regional and global levels. Public health measures such as vaccination response, enhanced surveillance for early case detection, case management and risk communication coordinated by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), in collaboration with WHO and other partners, are being implemented in response to the outbreak.
Description of the situation
Since the lastDisease Outbreak News on diphtheria in Nigeria was published on 27 April 2023, the country has reported suspected cases of diphtheria weekly to WHO. However, between 30 June and 31 August 2023, Nigeria recorded an unusual increase in the number of confirmed diphtheria cases[SUP]4 [/SUP](figure 1). ...
https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2023-DON485