The Federal Capital Territory Director, Public Health Department, Dr. Sadiq Abdulrahman, announces the outbreak, at a news conference in Abuja. while addressing the news conference, he says the disease had already killed a four-year-old, and that the outbreaks earlier recorded in Lagos, Ondo, and Kano states in January, had triggered a national response by the Nigeria Centre for Disease and Control.
Diphtheria is an infection caused by strains of a bacteria known as Corynebacterium Diphtheriae which produces toxins that cause difficulty in breathing, and heart rhythm problems, and could lead to death.
Diphtheria patients show kidney failure signs, brain complications and other symptoms