About 520 children have died from diphtheria disease outbreak in Kano State.
The information was disclosed by Dr Mohammed Nasir Mahmoud, the Director General of the Kano Primary Healthcare Management Board.
Mahmoud revealed the above figure during a press conference organized by the United Nations Children’s Fund UNICEF for journalists in Northwest states.
The Director disclosed that Kano currently accounts for 80 per cent of the outbreak.
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However, he assured citizens that the government at all levels and key stakeholders were working tirelessly to make a reverse.
He said:
“There is the data we generate through our disease surveillance and reporting system.
“Based on that report, this year, Kano has reported about 8,700 suspected cases of diphtheria, and about 6,000 have been confirmed.
“About 520 children are suspected to have died of related illnesses this year alone.
“We track this record on a daily basis. We believe the record is much more than what we are getting because the reporting system is not as it should be.”
According to Mr Rahama Farah, the Chief of the Kano Field Office for UNICEF, the disease has spread to 39 out of the 44 local government areas in the state.
The eight metropolitan local government areas have been hit the hardest, Farah added.
The development, he stressed, posed a great threat to child survival, health, and overall well-being.
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