The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has confirmed five cases of diphtheria out of 15 suspected cases investigated in the territory, with two deaths recorded among the confirmed cases.
The Mandate Secretary, Health Services and Environment Secretariat, FCTA, Dr Adedolapo Fasawe, disclosed this on Thursday during an advocacy campaign and community engagement on the prevention and control of diphtheria at the Emir of Karshi’s Palace in the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).
Fasawe, who represented the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, said recent alerts of diphtheria in some communities had prompted the administration to activate a multidisciplinary Incident Management Team after a case was confirmed in the laboratory.
She said 10 of the 15 suspected cases investigated were discarded, while five were confirmed, resulting in two deaths.
‘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.
Fasawe explained that early symptoms could include fever, sore throat, difficulty swallowing, and neck swelling, while severe cases could result in the formation of a thick greyish or whitish membrane in the throat, which could obstruct the airway.
‘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 begun active case searches, contact identification and monitoring, and provision of preventive antibiotics to eligible household contacts, as well as sample collection and laboratory testing.
According to her, healthcare workers were also being sensitized on early detection, infection prevention and control, and prompt reporting of suspected cases.
Fasawe said surveillance and vaccination teams had been deployed to priority settlements in Karshi, including Angwan Kokosa and surrounding communities.
She said the teams were conducting active case searches, identifying vaccination gaps, and finding children who had missed routine immunization.
‘Our vaccination efforts will prioritize zero-dose and under-immunized children. I therefore appeal to every parent and caregiver: please check your child’s vaccination card,’ she said.
She advised parents and caregivers who could not confirm their children’s vaccination status to visit the nearest primary healthcare center for assessment, adding that children should still be taken to health facilities even when their vaccination cards were unavailable.
The mandate secretary said the FCTA would intensify risk communication and community engagement using languages understood by residents, with information 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 directed private hospitals that encounter suspected diphtheria cases to isolate and refer such patients to the nearest secondary health facility and immediately notify the disease surveillance system.
Fasawe identified the AMAC Disease Surveillance and Notification Officer, Mr Adamu, as a key contact for reporting suspected cases and provided the telephone number 08185790793.
‘No patient with suspected diphtheria should be turned away or transferred without first being properly assessed, isolated where appropriate and stabilised,’ Fasawe said.
She also warned members of the public against touching, scraping or attempting to remove a membrane from the throat of a suspected diphtheria patient.
‘Such manipulation can cause severe bleeding, shock, and death,’ she cautioned.
Fasawe called on traditional and religious leaders, teachers, school proprietors, and community associations to support the response teams, counter misinformation, and report unusual illnesses promptly.
She also urged healthcare workers in public and private facilities to maintain a high index of suspicion, apply the standard case definition, isolate suspected cases, and notify surveillance authorities immediately.
‘Early notification can save not only one patient, but an entire community,’ she said.
Fasawe summed up the administration’s appeal to residents in three actions: ‘Vaccinate. Report early. Protect one another.’
Also speaking, the Acting Permanent Secretary, Health Services and Environment Secretariat, Ghali Kassim, said Karshi was selected for the campaign because of the confirmed diphtheria case and the need to prevent further transmission.
He described diphtheria as a deadly but preventable infectious disease, saying the FCT Administration was working 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 the importance of vaccination, early reporting, and community engagement in containing the disease.
Representing the AMAC Chairman, Christopher Zakka Maikalangu, and the Supervisory Councillor for Health, Nuhu Aliyu Usman, said the council had prioritized the health and well-being of residents.
He said the campaign followed the confirmation of a diphtheria case in the Kpokosa community, adding that active case searches and immunization activities were already underway.
‘The health and well-being of our people remain priority of the Abuja Municipal Area Council. We recognise the disease such as diphtheria can spread rapidly, particularly among the children, and therefore require early detection, prompt important vaccine, and coordinated action,’ Usman said.
He assured the FCTA and health authorities of the council’s support for surveillance, timely reporting of suspected cases and vaccination activities.
The Hakimi of Karshi, Alhaji Ahmed Doka, who represented the Emir of Karshi, Alhaji Ismail Mohammed, pledged the support of traditional rulers for 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 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 traditional rulers would work with health authorities to contain it.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) also pledged technical support to the FCT response.
Representing the agency, a member of the Risk Communication Committee of the 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 was in Karshi to provide technical and other support to help residents understand diphtheria and adopt 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 support efforts to improve vaccine uptake in their communities.
Adebayo said several diphtheria cases had been recorded in the community during the year, making the campaign necessary.
‘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 eligible children received routine vaccinations.
Adebayo assured the FCT of WHO’s continued technical and field support for the response, saying the organization remained committed to helping communities improve health outcomes and prevent further outbreaks.