West Africa responds to huge diphtheria outbreaks by targeting unvaccinated populations

By CHINEDU ASADU
Associated Press

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Authorities in several West African countries are trying to manage their huge diphtheria outbreaks. A top health official in Nigeria said Thursday that millions are being vaccinated to cover wide gaps in immunity against the disease. At least 573 people out of the 11,640 diagnosed with the disease in Nigeria have died since the current outbreak started in December 2022. Niger has reported the deaths of 37 people out of the 865 cases as of October while Guinea has reported 58 deaths out of 497. French medical organization Doctors Without Borders says that a major driver of the high rate of infection in the region has been a historically wide vaccination gap.