A total of 693 Nigerians have been pronounced dead after they contracted Lassa fever, cholera, and diphtheria between January 2024 till date across the country.
A breakdown of the three infectious diseases showed that 216 persons died from cholera , 168 from Lassa fever and 309 from diphtheria.
The Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC). Dr Jide Idris, made the disclosure Wednesday in Abuja, while giving an update on Mpox and other disease outbreaks in the country.
Idris said a total of 982 Lassa fever cases and 67 confirmed cases of Mpox were also recorded this year.
He said the confirmed cases of Lassa fever were recorded across 28 states and 127 local government areas.
He said a total of 7,773 suspected Lassa fever cases were recorded within the period, with the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) recording at least one suspected case.
The NCDC Director-General said the 67 Mpox confirmed cases were recorded across 23 states and the FCT. He said all states except Borno have recorded a suspected case of the disease.
He, however, added that the unreported case in Borno could be as a result of under reporting.
While saying there was a recent downward trend in the number of cases and deaths from Lassa fever and cerebro- spinal meningitis, he said the cases were likely to increase in the next few weeks and months.
He said, “So we are making preparations and implementing strategies to ensure a reduction in the number of cases as possible.
“There were more cases and deaths from Lassa fever this year than previous years. So we are putting measures in place to ensure we don’t have large numbers of cases next year.”
The NCDC director-general also said the country was recording a downward trend from cholera, noting that there was a 55% reduction in number of cases compared to week 35.
However, he said cumulatively from the beginning of this year , 216 deaths from cholera have been reported with 7,663 suspected cases across 35 States and the FCT.
Giving an update on diphtheria, Isiyaku Shuaibu Gani of the surveillance and epidemiology department, NCDC said a total of 309 deaths have been recorded from diphtheria this year, and that they occurred in Kano, Bauchi, Katsina, Borno, Yobe , Edo , Jigawa, FCT and Nasarawa.
Also, Gbenga Joseph, Head, Health Emergency Preparedness and Response NCDC, said ongoing efforts for Mpox are expansion of molecular laboratories in the NCDC network of laboratories, and provision of medical counter measures for response.
Dr Tochi Okwor, antimicrobial Resistance ( AMR) lead, NCDC said there was poor levels of AMR awareness among health workers, policy makers, and the general public.
Okwor said there was overuse and misuse of antibiotics in human and animal health.
She said these include taking antibiotics when they’re not needed, buying antibiotics without a prescription and
using too many antibiotics in farming.
