麻豆社

In Nigeria there are major concerns about an outbreak of diphtheria - the highly contagious bacterial infection.

On Monday it was announced that 453 people, mostly children, had been confirmed dead, with most cases in the northwest Kano State. The worst affected are children aged between 4 to 15 years who have never been vaccinated.

Now the United Nations Children鈥檚 Fund in Nigeria is sounding the alarm about the urgent need for widespread vaccination. It says that Nigeria is home to a staggering 2.2 million children who haven鈥檛 received even a single dose of vaccine - the second largest in the world.

Dr. Faisal Shuaib, Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency in Nigeria, says "we are facing a situation where up to 18 states have recorded have had, have reported at least a single case of Diphtheria".

Although he believes "if we are able to address the preboom in Kano we are optimistic that we will be able to stem the tide".

Dr. Faisal Shuaib stressed the need for children to get vaccinated, highlighting that this outbreak has again shown "that vaccines truly work".

(Photo: A doctor vaccinating children, Bwari, Nigeria. Credit: EPA)

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