Concerns as the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) confirmed the outbreak of deadly Diphtheria disease in parts of the city of Abuja.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) announced the discovery of the serious disease in four states in January 2023.
Amid uncertainty on the spread of the disease, the FCT Director of the Public Health Department, Dr Sadiq Abdulrahman, announced at a news conference on Monday that the disease has now been confirmed in Abuja.
Abdulrahman told reporters that the disease had already killed a four-year-old, adding that outbreaks earlier recorded in Lagos, Ondo, and Kano states in January had triggered a national response by the NCDC.
Diphtheria is a serious bacterial infection caused by the bacterium called Corynebacterium species that affects the nose, throat, and sometimes, skin of an individual. Corynebacterium Diphtheriae is said to produce toxins that cause difficulty in breathing and heart rhythm problems and could eventually lead to death.
Speaking further on the current situation, Abdulrahman said the outbreak was confirmed after tests on samples of suspected cases in a community near Dei-Dei, came back positive.
“Two weeks ago, we got information from a community within the FCT of eight cases and that made our team to pick some samples.
“The samples were taken to the National Reference Laboratory, Gaduwa, and the NCDC, and one of the suspected cases came out positive,” he said.
He urged residents to report any strange symptoms, particularly respiratory challenges to relevant authorities and tasked them to maintain good personal hygiene. Abdulrahman also assured that the department was collaborating with neighbouring states to checkmate the spread of the disease through border surveillance.
Reacting, the Executive Secretary FCT Primary Health Care Board, Dr Yahaya Vatsa, warned that unvaccinated people who lived in crowded and unhygienic environments were at high risk of contracting the disease.
He urged residents to ensure that their children were fully vaccinated, in line with the National Childhood Immunization Schedule.
“To reduce the risk of contracting the disease, FCT residents are hereby advised to ensure that their children are fully vaccinated with three doses of the pentavalent vaccine. This is recommended in the National Childhood Immunisation Schedule,” he said.
