The Katsina State Government says suspected diphtheria cases have been recorded across 29 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the State as the Government intensifies efforts to contain the outbreak.
Shema’u Kabir, Acting Executive Secretary of the Katsina State Primary Health Care Development Agency, while briefing journalists on Sunday in Katsina, said the situation remained a serious concern, with Funtua recording the highest burden, followed by Kankia, Bakori, Katsina, Mashi and Daura.
She said the Government had activated its Emergency Preparedness and Rapid Response Team under the Incident Management System to strengthen surveillance, contact tracing, case management and vaccination across affected communities.
According to her, reactive vaccination began on Aug. 25, 2026, targeting 15 high-risk wards across five LGAs, Bakori, Charanchi, Funtua, Mashi and Kankia, in collaboration with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and with logistical support from UNICEF.
She said preliminary data from the first three days of the exercise showed that 67,670 eligible persons had received Td vaccines, while 24,103 children had received Pentavalent vaccines across the five LGAs.
