….States Report Inadequate Bed Spaces for Patients
The Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Develop- ment Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Faisal Shuaib, has said patients in some states where diphtheria has been reported are currently facing challenge of inadequate bed spaces. To this end, Shuaib said about 20 states are affected, stressing that he would continue to work with colleagues in the states to set up emergency wards for the treatment of patients.
Shuaib made these known yesterday while giving an up- date on diphtheria. According to him, as of yesterday, there have been 15,060 reported suspected cases of diphtheria out of which 9,478 were confirmed cases from 137 LGAs in 20 states includ- ing the FCT. Giving the breakdown of the outbreak, Shuaib said that Kano reported 7,747 (81.7 percent), Yobe – 841, Bauchi – 369, Katsina – 275, Borno – 164, Jigawa -24.
Similarly, in Kaduna State, 18 cases were recorded, Lagos – eight, Zamfara – seven, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) – seven, Gombe – five, Sokoto – four, Osun – three, Niger – two, Cross River, Enugu, Imo, Nasarawa, Kebbi, Taraba – one each. Of the 9,478 confirmed cases, 6,777 (71.5 per cent) were aged one to 14 years.
According to Shuaib, infants ranging from one to four years that are infected with the disease are one per cent: 14.1 per cent, five to nine years while those that fall within 10 to 14 years, 30.6 per cent, 26.8 per cent are adults while those that have attained 20 years are 16 per cent.
In addition, the executive director of NPHCDA also announced that Katsina Federal Teaching Hospital has agreed to waive bed fees for diphtheria patients admitted into their care. He, however, noted that the finalisation of the development of the National Diphtheria Laboratory Guidelines is underway, just as the preparations for the sequencing of diphtheria isolates are being finalised.