The death toll from diphtheria in Plateau State has risen to 29, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Nicholas Baamlong, has confirmed.

However, as schools resume today across the country, the Niger State Government has mandated public and private schools across the state to strictly demand vaccination cards before admitting new students, as a way to curtail the diphtheria spread.

Baamlong, who disclosed this to newsmen yesterday as the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), led by its Communication Officer, Mr Opeyemi Olagunyi, assessed the cholera situation in the state, and added that 20 people have also died of the cholera outbreak.

The commissioner explained that diphtheria, which first broke out in the state in August, became worse two weeks later, with over 300 cases so far.

Apart from the 29 victims, he said nine patients were currently receiving treatment at the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), and eight at the Plateau State Specialist Hospital (PLSH.

For the cholera outbreak, Baamlong commended partner agencies for the vaccinations, stating that Jos North and Mangu local councils were the most affected. He further urged parents to take their newborn for immunisation.

Also, the Local Information Officer of Jos North, Nimnan Zingzhi, said 695,000 have been immunised so far in the house-to-house campaign for people one year and above.
Meanwhile, the Executive Director, Niger State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr Inuwa Junaidu, who disclosed this to newsmen in Minna, said the measure is necessary to stem the diphtheria scourge as the state has recorded over 40 more deaths in recent weeks.

Junaidu explained that the state has recorded about 166 cases of the disease, with about a 10 per cent mortality rate, and said Niger would soon begin contact tracing of about 215 patients.

He added that the state was beginning to see a decline in the number of cases from rural communities following its outbreak about 36 weeks ago.

According to him, the agency, working with the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, has put in place necessary measures to contain the spread of the disease in school environments.

These include making available to principals and head teachers of public and private schools education and communication materials, as well as equipping them with the knowledge of the signs and symptoms of diphtheria, among others.