Yobe State has recorded 511 cases of diphtheria and 13 deaths from the disease between January and Sept. 8, the state Commissioner of Health and Human Services, Dr Muhammad Gana, disclosed this on Thursday in Damaturu. According to the commissioner, the 13 deaths represent a Case Fatality Rate (CFR) of 2.5 per cent, which he said was lower than that recorded in most states affected by the disease across the country.
He added that 12 local government areas of the state had been affected by the outbreak, with plans at an advanced stage to conduct vaccination exercises in the affected areas. Gana said the 511 cases recorded so far represented a significant decline compared with the 1,100 cases recorded in September 2025 and preceding years.
He attributed the downward trend to sustained outbreak response activities, noting that the state recorded its highest diphtheria burden in 2023, with 3,080 cases. He said the response measures included the provision of free drugs to victims, training of health workers on outbreak response strategies, intensive vaccination in hard-to-reach areas, community engagement and sensitisation campaigns.
Other measures, he said, included aggressive contact tracing, regular updates to relevant stakeholders, coordination meetings and mobilisation of resources for outbreak response. Gana commended the World Health Organisation (WHO), UNICEF and the African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET) for supporting the state’s vaccination campaign, particularly in nomadic settlements.
Diphtheria is an acute bacterial infection that mainly affects the throat and upper respiratory tract and spreads primarily through respiratory droplets from coughing or sneezing, as well as through direct contact with infected skin lesions or contaminated secretions.
