Nigeria is battling a diphtheria outbreak that has killed more than 600 people, most of them children, officials have said. Many of the infected minors were not vaccinated.
According to multiple reports on Thursday, there are now 14,000 suspected cases of the disease, double what the Nigeria Center for Disease Control and Prevention recorded last month.
The outbreak, which started last December, has affected 19 of the country’s 36 states as well as the federal capital, Abuja. The epicenter is Kano state in northern Nigeria, where more than 500 deaths have been recorded.
Diphtheria is highly contagious and affects the nose and throat. Symptoms typically emerge gradually, beginning with a sore throat and fever.
In severe cases, the bacteria produce a toxin that causes a thick gray or white patch at the back of the throat that can block the airways.
Dr Faisal Shuaib, head of the National Primary Health Care
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