Kano State has recorded 32,633 confirmed cases of diphtheria and 1,744 deaths since the outbreak began, according to the Kano State Centre for Disease Control (KNCDC).
The Director-General of the agency, Muhammad Abbas, disclosed the figures on Tuesday during an appearance on Channels Television’s breakfast programme, The Morning Brief.
Abbas said the state had recorded 39,536 suspected cases from the beginning of the outbreak, of which 32,633 had been confirmed.
He added that the disease had spread across all 44 local government areas of Kano State.
According to him, 1,744 fatalities have been recorded, while 14.5 per cent of confirmed cases have been hospitalised.
Speaking on efforts to contain the outbreak, Abbas said Kano urgently needs to intensify vaccination across the state.
“What Kano needs to do is mass vaccination,” he said, while also urging communities to support disease surveillance and report suspected cases promptly.
Abbas stressed the importance of active case searches, particularly in rural communities, noting that health officials had identified additional suspected cases while investigating deaths in villages.
“When we went deep into the villages and did what we call active case searches among the dead, another child met the definition of diphtheria,” he said.
He emphasised that early reporting, prompt detection and mass vaccination remain critical to controlling the spread of the disease and preventing further deaths.
