Diphtheria Outbreak in Zamfara Claims 44 Lives

The Zamfara State Ministry of Health announced on Monday that the state has recorded 44 deaths due to a diphtheria outbreak. Dr. Yusuf Haske, the director of Public Health in the ministry, reported that there are 367 clinically suspected cases, with over 320 patients successfully treated and discharged.

Laboratory tests confirmed the presence of the diphtheria-causing organism, with samples sent to the National Reference Laboratory in Abuja for diagnosis. Following this confirmation, Governor Dauda Lawal directed the declaration of the outbreak and the activation of the Incident Management System to coordinate the response.

This response includes the establishment of rapid response teams at state and local government levels and case-management activities across the 14 local government areas of Zamfara. Isolation centers have been created in general hospitals, particularly in Gusau, which has the highest number of cases, with about four treatment centers.

The ongoing spread is attributed to active community transmission.