Taming the Menace of Diphtheria in the North - THISDAYLIVE

Nigeria has continued to face recurrent outbreaks of diphtheria, a severe and highly contagious vaccine-preventable bacterial infection.

Recent reports show ongoing flare-ups and fatalities across multiple states, including Plateau, Niger, Katsina, Zamfara, and Kano, alongside heightened surveillance in places like Lagos and Benue State. Children aged 1 to 14 years remain the most heavily impacted, particularly those who have missed routine childhood immunisations.

Health authorities point to historical gaps in vaccination coverage—exacerbated by routine immunisation disruptions—as the main cause of persistent transmission.

So far, this year alone, over 2,200 people have died from the disease across some states. Schools have been shut to avoid further deaths, yet the toll keeps rising by the day.

To tame further spread of the disease, first priority should be an aggressive vaccination catch-up campaign targeting children who missed routine immunisation, particularly in the eight states accounting for the overwhelming majority of confirmed cases. Rather than waiting for children to come to health facilities, vaccination teams should work with schools, primary healthcare centres, traditional institutions, religious leaders and community organisations to identify children who have missed doses.

Schools in high-burden areas need active disease surveillance. Teachers and school health personnel should know what symptoms to look for, where suspected cases should be referred and when pupils should be temporarily kept away from school. States need stronger laboratory and case-management capacity. Early diagnosis is critical because delays can allow transmission to continue while infected children move between homes, classrooms and communities.

Suspected cases should have rapid access to appropriate treatment, while close contacts are identified and managed according to public-health protocols. Similarly, governments need to publish clearer and more frequent data.

Nigeria has already seen how infectious diseases can expose weaknesses in vaccination, surveillance and primary healthcare.

The current diphtheria outbreak offers an opportunity to fix and take the health sector seriously.

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