Diphtheria Kills 26 Persons In Bauchi

At least 26 persons have died from Diphtheria out of 180 suspected cases recorded across Bauchi state following the outbreak of the disease.

LEADERSHIP had earlier reported that in July, five persons died from Diphtheria in Jama’are local government, which is the hotspot of the disease in the state leading to the closure of schools in the area.

The Executive Chairman of Bauchi State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr Rilwanu Mohammed, disclosed this while speaking during a USAID-IHP budget performance review meeting in Bauchi.

He said out of the number of deaths, four were confirmed diphtheria cases while the remaining 22 were signs, symptoms and complications of diphtheria following the results of tests conducted.

Rilwanu stated that so far, the suspected cases are being investigated to ascertain the confirmed cases.

“Twenty-six deaths were recorded among suspected/ confirmed cases (CFR- 14.40%). 10 LGAs reported at least a case, totalling 180 suspected cases in Bauchi state, Jamaáre LGA accounted for 57.8% of the Diphtheria cases.

“The ages of the suspected/ confirmed cases were 0–55 years while two deaths were recorded among the 7 confirmed cases. Some cases reported from Jama’are were partially vaccinated with a diphtheria toxoid-containing vaccine,” he said.