Widespread Diphtheria Outbreak in West Africa

West African countries, including Nigeria, are grappling with massive diphtheria outbreaks, with at least 573 people out of 11,640 diagnosed cases dying since the outbreak began in December 2022.

The toll could be higher across states unable to detect many cases, as treatment efforts are now on the decline. In Niger, 37 people have died out of 865 cases, while Guinea has reported 58 deaths out of 497 since its outbreak began in June. The highly contagious bacterial infection has been reported in 20 of Nigeria’s 36 states so far.

A major driver of the high rate of infection in the region is a historically wide vaccination gap, with only 42% of children under 15 fully protected from diphtheria in Nigeria and 47% in Guinea.

The global shortages of the diphtheria vaccine are worsening the situation, with the Nigerian government ramping up vaccination for targeted populations and assisting states to boost their capacity to detect and manage cases.