Diphtheria has killed two people in Abuja out of five laboratory-confirmed cases, leading the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to act quickly to ease public concern about the outbreak.
Dr. Adedolapo Fasawe, Mandate Secretary, FCTA’s Health Services and Environmental Secretariat, said this during a community education and advocacy session on the disease in Karshi, saying that the government had investigated 15 suspected cases as of last week.
Five of those cases were confirmed through laboratory testing, resulting in two deaths, while several others have subsequently been successfully treated and discharged.
She described diphtheria as a serious bacterial infection that affects the nose, throat, and, in rare cases, the skin, with early symptoms including fever, cough, and catarrh, which can develop to neck enlargement and severe breathing difficulties.
Dr. Fasawe recalled a terrible example in which a kid bled to death when a local barber attempted to clip a throat membrane, warning locals against self-treatment or any attempt to deal with the pseudo-membranes that grow at the rear of sick throats.
Instead of taking such drastic steps, she advised community members to report suspected instances to public health authorities right away.
To restrict the spread, she stated that the FCTA has sent a multidisciplinary Incident Management Team to Karshi and adjacent rural and urban populations to trace contacts, dispense preventive antibiotics, and increase community participation in local languages like Hausa and Gbagyi.
Addressing local worries, Karshi’s chief, Ismaila Mohammed, was represented by the District Head of Karshi, Alhaji Ahmed Doka, who emphasized that the documented fatalities occurred in a neighboring border community bordering Nasarawa State.
He expressed gratitude for the government’s prompt response and assured the commitment of traditional and religious leaders to guarantee that residents bring sick children to approved health centers rather than seeking unconfirmed indigenous treatments.
Also speaking, Hanatu Bello, representing the Nigeria Center for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), assured the FCT that the agency is providing full technical and operational support to disrupt the chain of transmission and establish effective risk communication across all public domains.
Imaobong Adebayo, FCT Coordinator of the World Health Organization (WHO), was represented by Dr. Jibril Alkasim.
He emphasized the availability and safety of free routine childhood immunizations, stressing that vaccine-preventable outbreaks underline the urgent need to close immunization gaps.
She emphasized the WHO’s commitment to assisting local health teams with field operations, active case searches, and efforts to increase vaccine coverage among vulnerable populations.
