Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has decried the outbreak of diphtheria, a dangerous bacterial disease, in parts of the country.
The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the 2023 general elections reacted to the outbreak of diphtheria in the country in a post on his official X handle on Tuesday.
The National Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, had stated that it had recorded 453 deaths from 7,202 confirmed cases of diphtheria in 105 local government areas across 18 states in the country and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.
Reacting, Atiku said, ”My heart goes out to the families and parents of the victims of this dreaded disease.
”I urge the Federal and the State Ministries of Health and Social Welfare, the NCDC, the primary healthcare authorities, and all relevant agencies to step up action to curtail the spread of this disease, which is quickly becoming an epidemic.”