Zamfara is located in the North-West region of Nigeria
The Zamfara State Ministry of Health says it has recorded 367 confirmed cases of diphtheria, with over 320 patients successfully treated and discharged.
The Director of Public Health in the Ministry, Dr Yusuf Haske, disclosed this to newsmen in Gusau while providing an update on the diphtheria situation in the state.
Dr Haske explained that laboratory tests conducted on samples collected from suspected patients confirmed the presence of the diphtheria-causing organism.
He said additional samples were sent to the National Reference Centre in Abuja, where the diagnosis was further confirmed.
According to him, following the confirmation, the State Ministry of Health, on the directive of Governor Dauda Lawal, declared the outbreak and activated the Incident Management System to coordinate the response.
He said the response included the activation of state and local government rapid response teams, as well as case-management activities across the state’s 14 local government areas.
Dr Haske said all general hospitals in the state have isolation centres for the treatment of diphtheria patients, while Gusau Local Government Area, which recorded the highest number of cases, has about four treatment centres.