The Edo State Government said on Monday that two persons died of diphtheria in the state.
DAILY POST reports that Stephenson Ojeifo, the Director of Public Health in the Edo State Ministry of Health, disclosed this in Benin City.
Ojeifo said the deaths were recorded between January and August 2024.
He explained that the deaths were from the six confirmed disease cases recorded during the period.
He attributed the deaths to the late presentation of the affected deceased to the hospital for treatment.
Ojeifo described the deaths as a sad occurrence for the state and noted that there was a need for timely visits to the hospital when children, including adults, are sick, instead of resorting to self-medication.
According to him, the state recorded 20 suspected cases of diphtheria between January and August 2024.
“Out of these, six were confirmed positive and two deaths were recorded,” he said.
The Director of Public Health, who said diphtheria is a vaccine-preventable disease, urged mothers and carers to ensure their children are vaccinated.
He stated that the vaccine is free and vaccination protects children against childhood-preventable diseases, which can cause death.
He also disclosed that the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, had provided the state with diphtheria antitoxins, which were used on patients who came early for treatment.
Ojeifo added that the antitoxins were not sold in the market, but the state was able to secure some from NCDC.
He said the ministry still had some of the vaccines in stock but there is no suspected active case of the disease in Edo.
The World Health Organisation, WHO, described diphtheria as a contagious disease caused by a bacterium that affects the upper respiratory tract and less often the skin.
Its common symptoms include fever, sore throat and swelling of the neck glands.
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