Two persons have been confirmed dead from Diphtheria infections in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, prompting the authorities to activate a multidisciplinary Incident Management Team and deploying surveillance and vaccination teams to affected communities.
This is coming on the heels of a warning by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to residents to desist from scraping or trying to remove the membrane that forms at the back of the throat of suspected diphtheria patients, saying the practice could result in severe bleeding, shock and death.
The warning followed the death of a child whose throat membrane was reportedly cut by a local practitioner, prompting the FCT health authorities to intensify community surveillance, vaccination, contact tracing and public awareness across the territory.
Mandate Secretary, Health Services and Environment Secretariat, Dr Adedolapo Fasawe gave the warning during an advocacy campaign and community engagement on the prevention and control of diphtheria at the Emir of Karshi’s Palace in Abuja.
Fasawe urged residents to immediately seek medical attention whenever symptoms associated with diphtheria were noticed rather than attempting home treatment or resorting to untrained practitioners.
She said: “There was a particular case in which the child had a membrane at the back of his throat, and a local baba attempted to cut that membrane. That child bled to death. That child died of shock.
“Let us not try and treat diphtheria when we see it. Let us refer to the nearest health centre.”
Fasawe said diphtheria could initially present with symptoms that appeared ordinary, including cough, catarrh, fever and sore throat, but could progress rapidly to difficulty in swallowing, neck swelling and breathing difficulties.
She said the teams were conducting active case searches, identifying close contacts and assessing vaccination gaps, particularly among children who had missed routine immunisation as she noted, “Our vaccination efforts will prioritise zero-dose and under-immunised children.”
The Mandate Secretary appealed to parents and caregivers to check the vaccination status of their children and visit the nearest primary healthcare centre if they were uncertain whether the recommended vaccines had been received.
“Even if the vaccination card is missing, please do not stay away. Our health workers will assess the child’s vaccination status and guide you appropriately.”
She said the administration had commenced contact tracing and reactive vaccination around confirmed cases in order to prevent further transmission.
“We have to know where that patient is coming from, all the people that patient has been exposed to, so that we do something called reactive vaccination.
“We go into where that patient is coming from, and we start to give diphtheria vaccines—all of it free of charge.”
The Mandate Secretary said the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, had directed that patients requiring treatment for diphtheria should receive care free of charge.
According to her, healthcare facilities including private hospitals, had also been brought into the response, urging them to immediately notify health authorities whenever they encountered suspected cases.
“If you are a private facility and you need assistance, or you notice you have a high index of suspicion for a case of diphtheria, kindly contact our Public Health Department,” Fasawe said.
She explained that the government was supporting primary healthcare centres with antibiotics, personal protective equipment, information, education and communication materials, as well as standard operating procedures for managing suspected cases.
Fasawe said the response had been extended beyond Karshi to other parts of the FCT, stressing that case finders were already moving from household to household in search of people with symptoms.
According to her, the FCT’s response would continue until transmission was brought under control, stressing that vaccination remained the most effective way to prevent the disease.
“Diphtheria can be gone forever, if only we take immunisation very seriously. We need to vaccinate our children when they are born. If every child that is born takes their immunisation, then it’s possible for diphtheria to be gone forever.”
She urged residents to remember three simple actions: “Vaccinate. Report early. Protect one another. Let no rumour prevent a child from being vaccinated. Let no fear delay a family from seeking care. Let no health facility turn away a suspected case.
“Diphtheria is preventable with vaccination. It is treatable when detected early. When government and communities act together, it can be stopped.”
The WHO representative at the engagement, Imabong Adebayo said community cooperation would be critical to stopping transmission, particularly as several cases had been linked to Karshi.
“We have so many cases for this year, leading up to now, coming from this community, and we hope that with the kind of awareness that this occasion will bring here, we’ll be able to interrupt transmission.”
She urged traditional and religious leaders to encourage parents and caregivers to improve their children’s uptake of routine immunisation.
“We have vaccines for diphtheria, and it’s our hope that, with this kind of outing, we’ll have more awareness on vaccines and then uptake of vaccines will be much better.”
The WHO representative assured the community of continued technical and field support for the FCT response.
The NCDC representative, Hannatu Bello said the agency was providing technical support through its Risk Communication, Community Engagement and Epidemic Management structures to ensure residents understood the disease and knew the appropriate preventive measures.
She said the aim was to ensure communities had the information needed to help health authorities “kick it out of the communities as soon as possible.”
The Supervisory Councilor for Health AMAC, Aliyu Usman said the council would continue to work with the FCT Administration, health workers, surveillance officers and community leaders to strengthen disease surveillance.
He appealed to traditional leaders, parents and caregivers in Karshi to cooperate with health teams.
“Report anyone with symptoms suggestive of diphtheria or other unusual illness promptly, and encourage eligible children to receive the recommended vaccines.”
The Chief of Karshi, represented by the Hakim of Karshi, Ahmed Doka, also pledged the support of traditional rulers, saying community leaders would promptly relay information on suspected cases to health authorities