By Lizzy Carr
The Bauchi State Primary Health Care Development Agency has confirmed the outbreak of diphtheria in six local government areas of the state.
Executive chairman of the Agency Dr Rilwanu Mohammed announced during a briefing on a disease outbreak in the state at the Emergency Operation Centre Bauchi.
Mohammed said 58 samples have been collected from January to date.
“Out of this number 3 are confirmed diphtheria cases from the laboratory out of which two deaths have been reported from Jama’are local government area,”
These cases he added are mostly among Fulani nomads and children with zero doses of immunizations.
“The disease is among children between ages eight months to four years and there is a case of a seven years old, the agency had to close schools in Jama’are local government area because of reported cases in a school,”
The Executive chairman added that re-active vaccination will be conducted for all the pupils irrespective of immunization status in the schools.
On yellow fever, Mohammed said there is an outbreak in the state with 248 suspected cases from Dambam, Ganjuwa, and Jama’are local government areas.
“We have nine presumptive positive cases out of which five have been confirmed,”
The Chairman lamented the delay in confirming a positive case as it takes almost five to seven months for laboratory results to come out.
“Samples from the State are taken to the National reference laboratory in Abuja where they are taken to Dakar Senegal, that is the problem we are facing,”
