An outbreak of suspected diphtheria disease has claimed three lives in Zaria, Kaduna State, with six others infected.
Reacting to the outbreak, Dr Bello Jamoh, Executive Secretary of Kaduna State Primary Healthcare Board, said that the state has been under close monitoring after the Diphtheria outbreak persisted in the state for the past 10 months.
He, however, assured residents that the Kaduna State Ministry of Health is working tirelessly to curtail the massive spread of the disease with support from relevant partners and stakeholders.
Dr Bello added that a team of experts would be deployed to strengthen efforts in tackling the spread and provide medical support to affected individuals.
Meanwhile, Malam Bashir-Magaji Basharata, a resident of Kwarbai, Zaria, who lost his daughter, has sounded a note of warning to residents in the state to take precautions given the rate at which the disease is spreading across the city.
According to him, his daughter developed a swollen neck and difficulty breathing and speaking, and was rushed to Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Shika. Basharata lamented that his daughter had passed away despite being treated at the hospital. Soon after, three other children developed similar symptoms.
“I immediately informed the local council health department, which responded by sending a team of vaccinators to the area,” he said.
He added that three children from a neighbour’s household were affected, adding that four children with diphtheria symptoms were admitted to Kakaki Primary Health Care Clinic near Kwarbai.
He lamented that concern over reports that no diphtheria vaccines were available across the entire Kaduna State. Basharata said the visiting medical team claimed they sourced the vaccines from neighbouring Niger.
