| If they’re still finding zero-dose children at the age of 4,5,6,7 or 11, it means we didn’t do our job well – Prof Tomori | Situation under control in Katsina – Health Agency | We have strengthened surveillance – Kano NCDC BY PATIENCE IVIE IHEJIRIKA, Abuja; ACHOR ABIMAJE, Jos; Longtong Yakubu, Kano; GODWIN ENNA, […]
| If they’re still finding zero-dose children at the age of 4,5,6,7 or 11, it means we didn’t do our job well – Prof Tomori | Situation under control in Katsina – Health Agency | We have strengthened surveillance – Kano NCDC
BY PATIENCE IVIE IHEJIRIKA, Abuja; ACHOR ABIMAJE, Jos; Longtong Yakubu, Kano; GODWIN ENNA, Katsina
The resurgence of diphtheria across Nigeria’s North-West has renewed concerns over declining immunisation coverage, with health experts calling for an end to vaccine boycotts and urging communities to embrace vaccination as the most effective protection against the deadly but preventable disease.
For a disease that can largely be prevented through routine childhood vaccination, the resurgence of diphtheria in Nigeria is raising concerns about the country’s ability to protect children from preventable illnesses.
Across parts of the North-West, particularly Kano and Katsina, children are once again bearing the burden of a disease health authorities say should not gain a foothold in communities with adequate vaccination coverage.
Medical experts said the recurring outbreaks are not simply the result of the circulation of a dangerous bacterium, but also reflect deeper weaknesses in routine immunisation, poor access to healthcare, vaccine hesitancy, insecurity, population displacement and the failure to consistently reach children who have missed their vaccines.
Diphtheria is a serious bacterial infection caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae. It mainly affects the nose and throat and spreads through respiratory droplets from coughing and sneezing, direct contact with an infected person, or contact with contaminated clothing and personal items.
According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), symptoms may include fever, sore throat, cough and a runny nose. In severe cases, a thick grey or white membrane can develop around the tonsils or at the back of the throat, causing difficulty in swallowing or breathing.
The NCDC said vaccination remains the most effective defence against the disease. Nigeria’s childhood immunisation schedule provides three doses of the pentavalent vaccine, which protects against diphtheria, at six, 10 and 14 weeks of age.
The persistence of outbreaks, therefore, points to a fundamental problem: too many children are either not receiving the vaccines or failing to complete the recommended schedule.
A renowned virologist and former Vice-Chancellor of Redeemer’s University, Prof. Oyewale Tomori, said the continued existence of zero-dose children was evidence of the health system’s failure to reach vulnerable families.
“If they’re still finding zero-dose children at the age of 4, 5, 6, 7, or 11, it means we didn’t do our job well. So long as we have zero-dose children, it’s only a matter of time before the disease catches up with us,” he said.
Tomori noted that the problem went beyond vaccine availability, stressing that the health system and community leaders must also be able to convince families of the importance of immunisation.
He expressed particular concern about vaccine boycotts and misinformation in parts of Northern Nigeria, urging political, religious and community leaders to take greater responsibility for educating families.
According to him, health authorities must communicate in ways communities can understand rather than relying solely on technical messages.
“You can’t blame the people too much; it’s their knowledge level. We must go down to their level and show them that this directly affects their families,” he said.
Tomori urged leaders to be more proactive in addressing religious and cultural concerns surrounding vaccination instead of leaving health workers to tackle misinformation alone.
He said simply telling parents that vaccines are safe may not be enough, stressing the need to help families understand the consequences of diphtheria for an unprotected child and the importance of completing the vaccination schedule.
The concentration of diphtheria cases in the North-West is not a new development.
Surveillance data from the NCDC covering 2022 to March 2025 showed that Kano, Yobe, Katsina, Bauchi, Borno, Kaduna and Jigawa accounted for 96.3 per cent of suspected diphtheria cases reported nationally during the period.
Children aged one to 14 years accounted for 62.9 per cent of confirmed cases, while only 19.3 per cent had been fully vaccinated against diphtheria.
In an earlier phase of the outbreak, the NCDC reported that 82 per cent of 798 confirmed cases occurred among unvaccinated people.
The figures highlight the link between the disease and immunity gaps. Where vaccination coverage is low, large numbers of children remain vulnerable, creating conditions for rapid transmission once the infection enters a community.
A public health expert, Dr Tony Esekhare, said several factors combine to make some communities particularly vulnerable, including poverty, difficult terrain and distance from health facilities, insecurity, displacement, population movement, poor awareness and missed opportunities for routine immunisation.
According to him, when children are not vaccinated or fail to complete their vaccination schedule, a susceptible population is created, allowing diphtheria to spread rapidly, particularly among children.
The challenge is compounded in communities where families struggle to access healthcare services regularly. For poor households living far from health facilities, repeated visits for childhood vaccination can be difficult because of transportation costs, insecurity, distance and competing economic pressures.
Meanwhile, the federal government has activated an emergency task force comprising the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the NCDC, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), affected states and development partners.
The response is focused on strengthening surveillance, closing immunisation gaps and ensuring that affected patients have timely access to treatment.
As part of the immediate intervention, the NPHCDA has deployed 500,000 doses of diphtheria-containing vaccines to Kano and Katsina for intensified immunisation in affected and high-risk communities.
Treatment annexes are also being established in Katsina’s three senatorial districts, while additional diphtheria antitoxin, antibiotics, personnel and protective equipment are being mobilised for referral centres.
However, experts warned that emergency vaccination campaigns cannot substitute for a functioning routine immunisation system.
Associate Professor of Infectious Diseases and Genomics at Adeleke University, Kolawole Oladipo, said Nigeria must strengthen health interventions at the grassroots to prevent repeated outbreaks.
“We need to prioritise vaccine-preventable diseases and increase community sensitisation using local languages like Yoruba and Hausa.
“I prefer strengthening the grassroots health system rather than focusing only on the top. We need to go directly to local communities to build real understanding,” he said.
For Oladipo, communication must be tailored to individual communities and delivered through trusted channels.
He called for greater involvement of traditional rulers, religious leaders, teachers, community health workers, women’s groups and other influential voices in addressing misinformation and fears surrounding vaccines.
Kano Records Over 1,800 Diphtheria Deaths
The director-general of the Kano State Centre for Disease Control (KNCDC), Prof. Muhammad Abbas, has disclosed that Kano recorded more than 39,000 suspected diphtheria cases between December 2022 and August 2026, with over 32,000 confirmed infections and more than 1,800 deaths.
Abbas, however, said the state had significantly reduced the disease burden from its peak, when Kano accounted for more than 85 per cent of Nigeria’s reported diphtheria cases.
He identified low vaccination coverage as a major driver of transmission, revealing that more than 16,000 confirmed cases involved children who had never received any vaccine.
According to him, Kano requires about nine million vaccine doses to immunise the growing population of zero-dose children across the state.
Abbas said the state government had considered procuring vaccines for children in all 484 wards, subject to regulatory approval, but suspended the plan after the Federal Ministry of Health pledged to supply the vaccines.
He said the KNCDC had strengthened surveillance and active case searches to ensure early detection and prompt treatment of infections.
He explained that surveillance officers submit daily reports from all 44 local government areas and that an active case search was immediately conducted in Rano after the reports emerged.
** Diphtheria Situation Under Control in Katsina**
Meanwhile, the Katsina State Primary Health Care Agency (KSPHCA) says the diphtheria outbreak in the state is currently under control, although health authorities continue to record and respond to suspected cases across affected communities.
The acting executive secretary of the agency, Dr Shima’u Kabir, disclosed this while giving an update on the outbreak and measures being taken to contain its spread.
Kabir said the agency was updating its data daily as part of its surveillance and response efforts, noting that the number of Local Government Areas (LGAs) under surveillance had increased from 29 to 30 following the identification of a suspected case in an additional LGA.
She, however, expressed optimism that the situation would improve following the reactive vaccination exercise recently conducted in affected areas.
“We can say it’s under control. We are doing our work. But we know how outbreaks are. We are responding every day. Everything is under control. Hopefully, inshallah, we start to see the reduction in the numbers,” she said.
The assurance comes amid continued pressure on some isolation facilities handling diphtheria patients.
GASH Isolation Centre Under Pressure
At the GASH 16-bed isolation centre, one of the facilities managing diphtheria cases, all available beds were occupied at the time of the report.
Kabir said the agency was working to increase the centre’s immediate capacity by moving additional beds into an empty cubicle before opening another wing.
“We are trying to move patients because there’s another cubicle that is empty. So, we are trying to move additional beds to put in the cubicle that is empty, for now, before we open the second wing of the isolation centre,” she explained.
The pressure at GASH does not necessarily indicate that the outbreak is worsening. The centre’s occupancy reflects patients already requiring isolation and treatment, while the agency’s assessment of the outbreak is based on the broader surveillance and case trend across the state.
Teaching Hospital Reports Fewer New Referrals
At the Federal Teaching Hospital Katsina (FTH), however, officials reported a decline in new diphtheria admissions.
An official of the hospital, Amina Al-Baba, said the facility was not experiencing a fresh influx of diphtheria patients at the time of the visit.
She said only four patients had recently been referred to GASH from the hospital, while some suspected cases were not admitted.
“We had only four, which referred to GASH, but some were rejected. The only place we have patients is the main ward isolation centre. The situation has improved,” Al-Baba said.
Government Addresses Referral Arrangement
Kabir also disclosed that state health authorities had engaged the Federal Teaching Hospital over the management and referral of diphtheria patients.
She said the arrangement was for the teaching hospital to manage critical patients, while stable patients could be referred to the GASH isolation centre.
“We have spoken with the FTH because we learned that they are now just referring the patients to the isolation centre. Meanwhile, we know that they still have available space to admit,” she said.
According to her, the matter was being addressed to ensure that available capacity at the teaching hospital was properly utilised, particularly for patients requiring critical care.
Fresh Antitoxin Supply
Concerns were also raised over the availability of diphtheria antitoxin at the isolation centre.
Kabir confirmed that the state had received a fresh supply from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) the previous evening.
She said arrangements were being made to deliver the antitoxin to the treatment centre for patients who required it.
The Acting Executive Secretary also disclosed that more than 150,000 additional vaccine doses had been administered during the recent five-day vaccination exercise.
She explained, however, that vaccines available at health facilities for routine immunisation could not simply be diverted to the reactive vaccination campaign because they were primarily meant for routine immunisation of children under two years.
She said the state was expecting about 650,000 doses specifically for the reactive vaccination campaign in affected wards.
While awaiting the additional doses, the agency is also using prophylactic medication as part of its response to the outbreak.
Authorities Urge Early Presentation
Despite the reported improvement in new admissions at the Federal Teaching Hospital and the state agency’s assessment that the outbreak is under control, health authorities have urged residents not to become complacent.
Kabir appealed to residents to seek medical attention promptly whenever they notice symptoms that could indicate diphtheria.
She said early presentation at health facilities remained critical to ensuring that suspected cases were detected and treated promptly.
The latest developments point to a cautiously improving situation, rather than the complete easing of pressure on health facilities. While the state health agency says the outbreak is under control and expects cases to decline, GASH remains under pressure from patients requiring isolation and treatment, even as the Federal Teaching Hospital reports fewer new diphtheria admissions.
Sustaining vaccination, strengthening surveillance and ensuring that patients are appropriately referred according to the severity of their condition will therefore remain crucial to preventing a resurgence of the outbreak.
Diphtheria Outbreak Claims 15 Lives, Infects 117 In Plateau
No fewer than 15 people have died following a suspected outbreak of diphtheria in several communities in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State.
At least 117 people are also suspected to have contracted the disease, raising concerns among health authorities over a possible escalation of the outbreak.
The Disease Surveillance and Notification Officer (DSNO) for Jos North, Mr Baks Bulus, disclosed this on Tuesday at the Jos North Local Government Secretariat.
Bulus said the deaths were recorded within three days of the outbreak, warning that more cases could emerge if urgent preventive measures were not taken.
“I can account for what is happening in Jos North. So far, based on data gathered from the communities, 117 people are suspected of having contracted the disease.
“Out of this number, we have already recorded 15 deaths, based on the records available to us as of now,” he said.
The development came barely two days after a family in Jos reportedly lost two children, aged between 12 and 17, to the suspected infection.
Explaining the mode of transmission, Bulus said diphtheria is a bacterial infection that can spread rapidly from person to person, particularly among close contacts.
He said people who share personal items, such as utensils and towels, with infected persons are also at risk of contracting the disease.
“Diphtheria can be transmitted from person to person. It spreads when people come into close contact with an infected patient, and it can be disastrous.
“For children who have been vaccinated, the effects may be milder and may not lead to death. But for a child who has not been fully vaccinated or has not completed the required doses, it can be deadly,” he said.
The DSNO stressed that diphtheria is a vaccine-preventable disease, noting that children who receive the recommended doses are better protected against severe illness.
He urged residents, particularly those in affected communities, to maintain good personal hygiene and promptly report suspected symptoms at government health facilities.
“People should maintain good personal hygiene and avoid overcrowded places. We advise residents to visit the nearest health facility because early detection is key to saving lives.
“Most times, people resort to chemists and self-medication, which we do not advise. The best approach is to visit primary healthcare centres where we have the necessary structures and personnel in place,” Bulus added.
He said health personnel from the local government had been deployed to affected communities to intensify surveillance and sensitise residents on measures to prevent further spread of the disease.
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