By Golok Nanmwa
JOS – No fewer than 23 persons have died following a suspected outbreak of diphtheria in Plateau State, with health authorities recording 143 suspected cases in the last two weeks.
The Plateau State Commissioner for Health, Dr Nicholas Baamlong, disclosed this in a telephone interview with Channels Television in Jos, saying the state government had intensified efforts to contain the spread of the highly infectious disease.
Baamlong said nine patients were currently receiving treatment at the Jos University Teaching Hospital, JUTH, and the Plateau Specialist Hospital.
According to him, the patients are being managed in isolation as the state government steps up surveillance, public enlightenment and other containment measures across affected communities.
