By Sylvia Kodilichukwu, Enugu
Enugu State Government has stated that there is no confirmed case of diphtheria in the state, urging residents to discountenance what it described as “unfounded ongoing rumours.”
State Commissioner for Health, Prof George Ugwu, made the clarification in a briefing on Wednesday in Enugu while giving update on the reported suspected case of a diphtheria patient at University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Ituku/Ozalla, Enugu.
A popular online medium had earlier run the report.
But, dismissing the reports, Prof Ugwu stated: “In response to this, the Public Health and Surveillance unit of the State Ministry of Health are already at alert and to ensure appropriate prevention control measure and early detection as may be necessary.
“A few days ago, there was a report of suspected case of diphtheria at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu which was followed by our team.
“However, the diagnosis of diphtheria could not be sustained or confirmed; while the patient, who was rumoured and suspected to have diphtheria, had tonsillitis.”
The Commissioner noted that accordingly, contact traces and other appropriate measures are ongoing and “yet diphtheria are not diagnosed or confirmed in the state.”
He explained that the suspected patient had been traced to his home in Achara Layout in Enugu and he did not have any record of travel and had not being to the northern part of the country as reported.
“Our surveillance and tracing teams have also contacted his family members and others but no trace of diphtheria established,” he said.
Ugwu noted that although the state had remained on high alert against infectious diseases, “Enugu State is never at high risk of contacting diphtheria.”
“For the state, we have a robust routine and mop-up vaccination especially on Penta 3, which provides effective immunisation against diphtheria for a whole lifetime.
“In 2026 vaccination, we had 91 per cent record of coverage on Penta 3 vaccination, which is even above the national target or threshold,” he said.
The Commissioner urged residents to remain calm and avoid spreading rumours or unverified information as well as seek medical attention promptly if they develop symptoms of any sickness.
He said, “The Ministry is calling on parents and caregivers to ensure children are fully immunised with diphtheria-containing vaccines (Penta 3).
“Residents are urged to follow the advice of health authorities during contact tracing and monitoring.
“Healthcare workers are urged to maintain appropriate standard precautions, promptly notify suspected cases through the surveillance system and ensure appropriate infection prevention and control measures.
“The Enugu State Ministry of Health, in collaboration with UNTH and relevant international partners, continues to monitor the situation and will be proactive for further information as necessary.”
It would be recalled that there has been an outbreak of diphtheria in Nigeria, with 19,799 suspected cases sent to molecular laboratory tests; 15,309 confirmed cases and 517 confirmed deaths across 26 states and 357 Local Government Areas in the country.
The worst affected states accounting for over 98 per cent cases of diphtheria are Kano, Bauchi, Borno, Katsina, Sokato, Zamfara, Kaduna and Plateau, according to Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC).
Diphtheria is a serious but vaccine-preventable bacterial disease that can spread though respiratory droplets and close contact.
Symptoms of diphtheria include fever, sore throat, difficulty or pain when swallowing, cough, difficulty breathing, swelling of the neck and greyish/white membrane in the throat.
