The United Nations Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has said 359 of 774 local government areas in Nigeria have been identified as high risk of maternal and neonatal tetanus epidemic.
The global agency also said all 11 Northern states were at high risk of the epidemic.
A focal person with UNICEF, Dr. Idris Nagia, spoke on the dangers associated with the infection at a sensitisation and orientation for partners and stakeholders on Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus Elimination.
He raised the alarm that most parts of the country were at high priority risk of maternal and neonatal tetanus.
According to him, it is one of the six killer diseases in the world and a leading cause of neonate deaths in developing counties.
Nagia said the 138 local government areas in the 11 northern states were also at high risk with the trend rising in the Northeast due to the insecurity in the region.
The UNICEF officer said one new-born dies every minute from tetanus, adding that a lot of people do not still recognise that most of the deaths are caused by tetanus.
The high-risk tetanus epidemic areas include Agwara, Edati, Magama, Mashegu, Mokwa, Rafi and Shiroro.