Dr. Bello Jamo, the Executive Secretary of the Kaduna State Primary Health Care Board, and his health team have confirmed an outbreak of diphtheria in the Tukur Tukur settlement of Zaria Local Government Area, Kaduna State.
The team, along with a representative from the World Health Organization, visited the community in response to reports of child deaths.
Dr. Jamo reported that three children had succumbed to the suspected outbreak, stating that the lack of compliance with diphtheria vaccination during a previous routine exercise conducted two months prior was a contributing factor.
He mentioned that this was the first reported case of diphtheria outbreak in the 13 wards of Zaria LGA since the vaccination campaign in June.
Highlighting the high refusal rate of the vaccine in Tukur Tukur settlement based on previous records, Dr. Jamo engaged with community leaders to emphasize the importance of vaccination and urged for increased awareness efforts.
“Based on our record, Tukur Tukur settlement has been the highest in rejection rate of the vaccine during our previous routine exercise.
“So I met with the ward, religious and opinion leaders and urged them to scale up a sensitisation campaign on the need to embrace the vaccine.”
To address the outbreak, the team vaccinated over 1,000 children in the area and planned to continue vaccination in neighboring settlements over the following week.
One victim passed away at home, while two others died after being taken to Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital in Shika, Zaria.
Fatima Abdullahi, the ward focal person, assured Dr. Jamo of her team’s commitment to staying in the community for a week to eradicate the disease.
Abdul-azeez Suleiman, the spokesperson of the Northern Elders Forum, expressed gratitude for the swift response and pledged the community’s support for raising awareness about the importance of vaccination.
