Anambra State has not recorded any confirmed case of diphtheria, the state's commissioner for health has said, according to Independent Newspaper Nigeria.
The statement, reported on Sunday, September 13, 2026, comes as diphtheria continues to surface in other parts of Nigeria.
The picture elsewhere is different. Lagos State recorded six confirmed diphtheria cases in 2026, Channels Television reports. In the north, Punch Newspapers links vaccination gaps to deaths from the outbreak, while Vanguard News reports that Katsina State vaccinated 150,346 people in five days and secured an additional 650,000 doses.
LEADERSHIP Newspapers, in a separate report, describes diphtheria and Lassa fever as preventable diseases that are still killing Nigerians.
Diphtheria is a bacterial infection that can be prevented through routine immunisation, which is why health authorities in affected states have focused on closing vaccination gaps. The contrast between Anambra's position and the situation reported in Lagos and parts of the north suggests the outbreak's spread across the country remains uneven.
The commissioner's statement covers confirmed cases only, and the reporting available does not include figures for suspected cases or tests carried out in Anambra.
What to watch next: whether Anambra sustains its zero-confirmed-case status and whether the vaccination drives reported in Katsina and other northern states slow the outbreak's spread.
