Di Plateau State Government for central Nigeria don confirm say di number of suspected diphtheria cases for di state don rise to 303, with di death toll increase to 27.

Di State Epidemiologist, Dr Maren Damulak, disclose dis one on Wednesday while e dey brief journalists for Jos.

He talk say di number of fatalities don rise from di 23 wey dem previously report.
Damulak talk say majority of di suspected cases na for Jos North Local Government Area dem record am, with Rikkos community identify as one of di worst-hit areas.

He add say children make up big proportion of those wey di disease affect.
To respond to di outbreak, di state government don intensify surveillance, contact tracing, community sensitisation and vaccination for affected communities.

As part of containment measures, di government earlier order say make dem temporarily close all public and private primary and secondary schools for di state, effective from September 7.

Di directive follow afta dem detect suspected cases for Jos North, Jos South, Bassa and Wase LGAs.

According to di government, di closure aim to reduce transmission among pupils, students and school staff while health authorities dey scale up surveillance and response activities.

Some suspected patients currently dey receive treatment for Jos University Teaching Hospital and Plateau State Specialist Hospital, where dem don provide isolation facilities.

Di Chairman of Jos North Local Government Council, John Christopher, talk say di council don deploy additional logistics, including motorcycles, to support contact tracing, field surveillance and community outreach.

While e dey talk during on-the-spot assessment of affected communities and visit to patients for Primary Healthcare Clinic for Abba Na Shehu Ward, Christopher urge residents say make dem prioritise personal and environmental hygiene to curb di spread of di disease.

"Diphtheria dey spread through air and e dey highly contagious. Basic hygiene can drastically reduce di spread."