A health team led by the Executive Secretary of Kaduna State Primary Health Care Board, Dr. Bello Jamo, has confirmed an outbreak of diphtheria in Tukur Tukur settlement in Zaria Local Government Area of ​​the state.

The team, which included a representative from the World Health Organization, visited the community after reports of child deaths.

Jamo confirmed that three children had died in the suspected outbreak. The incident was attributed to non-compliance with the diphtheria vaccination requirement during a routine exercise conducted two months ago.

The KPHCB boss, who spoke to journalists shortly after the visit on Sunday, noted that this was the first reported case of disease outbreak in the 13 districts of Zaria LG following the routine vaccination carried out in June.

According to him, this settlement had the highest vaccine refusal rate.

He said: “According to our records, Tukur Tukur settlement had the highest vaccine refusal rate during our last routine exercises.

“So I met with community leaders, religious and opinion leaders and urged them to intensify their awareness campaign on the need for vaccination.”

To contain the outbreak, the team vaccinated over 1,000 children in the area and ordered further vaccinations in neighboring settlements for the following week.

He also called on local politicians and health authorities to intensify their awareness campaigns on the importance of vaccination.

The local council’s health minister, Abdullahi Sule, reported that one victim died at home while two others died after being taken to the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital in Shika, Zaria.

Station manager Fatima Abdullahi assured residents that her team would stay in the community for a week to rid the settlement of the disease.

An elder and spokesperson of the Northern Elders Forum, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, thanked for the quick response and assured that the community was ready to launch a consistent awareness campaign on the importance of vaccination.

Our correspondent reports that the alarm has been raised in the community about a possible diphtheria outbreak.