Two Die from Diphtheria Outbreak in Abuja

Onyebuchi Ezigbo and Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

Two persons have been confirmed killed from a diphtheria outbreak in Abuja.

This was as the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) said it will activate a multidisciplinary Incident Management Team to check the outbreak of diphtheria in the capital city.

The two victims were among the patients confirmed following laboratory tests to be afflicted with the disease, according to the Mandate Secretary, Health Services and Environmental Secretariat, FCTA, Dr. Adedolapo Fasawe.

Fasawe, who represented the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, said the FCT had received reports on the outbreak of diphtheria in communities in recent weeks, prompting the administration to activate a multidisciplinary Incident Management Team. 

Fasawa disclosed this during an advocacy campaign and community engagement on the prevention and control of diphtheria at the Emir of Karshi’s Palace, Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).

She confirmed two fatalities, while several patients had been successfully treated and discharged.

According to her, 10 of the 15 suspected cases investigated were found to be negative while the five confirmed cases had resulted in two deaths.

She also said that 15 other suspected diphtheria cases are being investigated.

“Diphtheria is a serious bacterial infection that affects the nose, throat and sometimes the skin of an individual. It is caused by the bacterium Corynebacterium species, mainly by toxin-producing Corynebacterium diphtheriae,” she said.

According to Fasawe, early symptoms may appear ordinary like fever, sore throat, difficulty swallowing and neck swelling, but severe cases could develop a thick greyish or whitish membrane in the throat capable of blocking the airway and causing death.

“Anyone with these symptoms must be taken to a health facility immediately. Families should not wait until the child begins to struggle to breathe,” Fasawe warned.

She said the FCT response team had commenced active tracing, identification and monitoring of close contacts, provision of preventive antibiotics to eligible household contacts, sample collection and laboratory testing.

She added that healthcare workers were also being sensitised on early detection, infection prevention and control and prompt notification of suspected cases.

Fasawe further said that surveillance and vaccination teams had been deployed to various settlements including; Karshi, Angwan Kokosa and surrounding communities, to conduct active case searches, assess vaccination gaps and identify children who had missed routine immunisation.

“Our vaccination efforts will prioritise zero-dose and under-immunised children. I therefore appeal to every parent and caregiver: please check your child’s vaccination card,” she said.

She urged parents who were uncertain about their children’s vaccination status to visit the nearest primary healthcare centre, stressing that children should still be taken for assessment even when their vaccination cards were missing.

Fasawe said the administration would intensify risk communication and community engagement in languages understood by residents, with information to be taken to households, schools, marketplaces, places of worship and motor parks.

“Rumours and misinformation must not be allowed to stand between any child and a lifesaving vaccine,” she said.

She also directed private hospitals that encounter suspected diphtheria cases to isolate and refer such patients to the nearest secondary health facility, while immediately notifying the disease surveillance system.

She said the AMAC Disease Surveillance and Notification Officer, Mr. Adamu, will serve as a key contact for reporting suspected cases, providing the telephone number as 08185790793.

Fasawe appealed to traditional and religious leaders, teachers, school proprietors and community associations to support the response teams, counter misinformation and report unusual illnesses promptly.

She urged healthcare workers in public and private facilities to maintain a high index of suspicion, apply the standard case definition, isolate suspected cases and immediately notify surveillance authorities.

“Early notification can save not only one patient, but an entire community,” she said.

Also speaking, the Acting Permanent Secretary, Health Services and Environment Secretariat, Ghali Kassim, said the choice of Karshi for the campaign was strategic because of the confirmed diphtheria case and the need to prevent further spread.

He described diphtheria as a deadly but preventable infectious disease, saying the FCT Administration had resolved to work with the Karshi community and other stakeholders to contain it.

“The choice of Karshi is not accidental. Karshi is strategic, it’s very important, and it’s very significant,” Kassim said.

He urged residents to cooperate with health officials, stressing that vaccination, early reporting and community engagement were critical to curtailing the disease.

The Supervisory Councillor for Health, Nuhu Aliyu Usman, who represented AMAC Chairman, Christopher Zakka Maikalangu, said the council had made the health and wellbeing of residents a priority.

“The health and well-being of our people remain priority of the Abuja Municipal Area Council. We recognise diseases such as diphtheria can spread rapidly, particularly among the children, and therefore require early detection, prompt important vaccines, and coordinated action,” Usman said.

The Hakimi of Karshi, Alhaji Ahmed Doka, who represented the Emir of Karshi, Alhaji Ismail Mohammed, pledged the support of traditional rulers in the community to the outbreak response.

Doka thanked the FCTA for choosing Karshi for the intervention and urged residents to take proper care of their children and promptly report any information relating to the disease.

“We, the traditional rulers, we shall make sure if there is any hint, any small information again, we have to get you informed,” he said.

He expressed optimism that the disease would not spread beyond the affected areas, adding that the traditional institution would work with health authorities to ensure its containment.

On its part, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) pledged technical support to the FCT response.

A member of the NCDC Risk Communication Committee on Emergency Operations Centre’s Diphtheria Emergency Operations Centre/Technical Working Group, Hannatu Bello, said the NCDC was responsible for surveillance, detection and response to disease outbreaks.

She said the agency had come to Karshi to provide technical and other support needed to ensure that residents understood diphtheria and adopted appropriate preventive and control measures.

“We hope that together, we are able to get the people to know a lot about every other disease, not just diphtheria, and do the needful so that we are able to prevent, and even when disease occurs, we are able to quickly control and then cut the chain of transmission,” she said.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) representative, Imabong Adebayo, said diphtheria was preventable through vaccination and urged traditional and religious leaders to help improve vaccine uptake in their communities.

Adebayo said several diphtheria cases had been recorded from the community during the year, making the campaign particularly important.

“We hope that after this engagement, we’ll be able to get the buy-in of our traditional leaders and religious leaders to be able to help us to see how we can interrupt transmission of diphtheria in Karshi,” she said.

She stressed that vaccines were free, safe and available for children, urging mothers and caregivers to ensure that eligible children received their routine vaccinations.