Prevalence of Neonatal Tetanus in Northeastern Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Neonatal tetanus (NNT), a deadly vaccine preventable disease and one of the most underreported diseases in the developing countries, is seen in the newborn within the first 28 days of life. NNT remains one of the leading causes of deaths among neonates in the developing countries with about 130,000 neonatal deaths recorded in 2004. In the 1989 World Health Assembly and the 1990 world summit for children, WHO/UNICEF together with partner agencies called for the elimination of tetanus by 1995. Despite the global success recorded in the NNT elimination strategy, Nigeria is still among the 25 remaining countries that are yet to achieve the global NNT elimination target as set by the WHO.

Study Design: Retrospective study

Methods: This quantitative cross-sectional study involved mothers who gave birth to NNT babies between January 2008 and December 2013. . The study used secondary dataset collected by trained NNT surveillance officers in the northeast zone of Nigeria using a standard tool.

Results: Although the trend of NNT in the region showed a decrease in cases with fewer cases 9% (27/306) recorded in 2013, the prevalence rate of NNT was unacceptably high at 28.815%.

Conclusion: Though at a slow pace, it is clear that the measures put in place by the Nigerian government towards meeting the 2015 NNT elimination deadline is yielding positive results. In spite this, there is need for policy makers to increase their commitments to ensure that Nigeria meet up with the 2015 NNT elimination deadline.