Attachments
Yobe Update Diphtheria Resurgence
Beginning in Week 25/2023, Yobe state is experiencing a new resurgence of suspected diphtheria cases. In November 2022, Yobe State reported its first confirmed cases of diphtheria. There were 476 suspected cases reported as of July 28, 2023, and 48 deaths were noted with a 10% CFR. 288 of them, or 64%, are children under the age of ten and 89.6% are zero dose of pentavalent vaccine. 114 samples were taken from the total number of suspected cases, out of which 17 (14.9%) were laboratory confirmed (National Reference Laboratory). 12 LGA have been affected so far, and Potiskum (165) and Nguru (172) are the two Local Government Areas (LGAs) where most of the cases (70%) are concentrated. Between Week 26 and Week 30 of 2023, the number of suspected cases increased by 44.5% (from 270 to 476 suspected cases), and the number of affected LGA increased by 58.3% (from 5 to 12 LGA). These increases are attributable to increased detection in healthcare facilities, active case searches, community sensitization and awareness campaigns, and ongoing investigations across all LGAs in the State.
Due to difficulties in case management and patients arriving at the isolation treatment unit center at a late stage of the disease, the case fatality rate has unfortunately increased from 8,7% to 10%. In close collaboration with NCDC and the State Ministry of Health, WHO, UNICEF, ACF, IRC, Mercy Corps and other health sector partners have been expanding the response to save life and control the epidemic through:
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The development and the implementation of a joint incident response plan.
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The deployment of a senior public health specialist to bolster the response and assist with coordination and leadership.
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Deployment of the State Rapid Response Teams in the affected areas.
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Implementation of case management in three isolation treatment centers (Potiskum, Bursari, and Damaturu).
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Setting up a referral isolation center at YSSH Damaturu for the management of patients exhibiting life-threatening complications.
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Conduct of active case search, line listing of cases, outbreak investigations in the affected LGAs and collection of samples, packaging and transportation to the National Reference Laboratory.
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Ongoing preparation for reactive vaccination.
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Ongoing risk communication and community engagement activities in the affected LGAs
Efforts are ongoing to overtop the major gaps which include the strengthening of the contact tracing teams, the increasing of manpower to undertake effective case management especially in Dapchi and Potiskum and reduce the turnaround time for laboratory examination and result feedback. While a major obstacle to control the epidemic is getting access to the hard-to-reach areas (Bursari and Fune LGAs), where a significant number of the suspected cases with life-threatening complications are coming from.