More than 16,000 children among over 32,000 confirmed diphtheria cases recorded in Kano State since 2022 had never received any vaccination against the disease, the Director-General of the Kano State Centre for Disease Control, Prof Muhammad Abbas, has disclosed.
Abbas described the situation as a major public health crisis, warning that the large number of zero-dose children was increasing the risk of preventable diphtheria deaths across the state.
“The disheartening thing is this: over 16,000, close to 17,000, are zero-dose children. That means these are children who have never been vaccinated at all. Zero. No vaccination,” he said.
The KNCDC boss made the disclosure on Saturday while addressing journalists on the state’s response to diphtheria, amid controversy over reports of deaths allegedly linked to the disease in Rano Local Government Area.
He said more than 39,000 suspected diphtheria cases had been investigated in Kano since December 2022, with over 32,000 confirmed through laboratory, clinical and epidemiological confirmation.
