Two people have died from diphtheria in the Federal Capital Territory after five cases were confirmed through laboratory testing, the FCT Administration has said.
The Mandate Secretary, Health Services and Environmental Secretariat, FCTA, Dr. Adedolapo Fasawe, disclosed this on Thursday, September 10, at a community sensitisation and advocacy programme on diphtheria in Karshi.
Fasawe said the FCT had investigated 15 suspected cases as of last week, with five confirmed through laboratory testing.
She said two of the confirmed patients had died, while several others had been treated and discharged.
However, the Chief of Karshi, Ismaila Mohammed, clarified that the deaths did not occur within Karshi town but in a neighbouring border settlement along Nasarawa State.
Diphtheria is a bacterial infection that mainly affects the nose and throat and can sometimes affect the skin, Fasawe said.
She said early symptoms may include fever, cough and catarrh, which can progress to neck swelling and severe difficulty in breathing.
Fasawe warned residents against self-medication and cautioned them against attempting to remove the pseudo-membranes that may form at the back of an infected person’s throat.
She recalled an incident in which a child reportedly bled to death after a local barber attempted to cut a throat membrane, stressing that suspected cases should be reported immediately to public health authorities.
Fasawe said the FCTA had deployed a multidisciplinary Incident Management Team to Karshi and surrounding rural and urban communities to curb further transmission.
According to her, the team is conducting contact tracing, administering preventive antibiotics and carrying out community sensitisation in local languages, including Hausa and Gbagyi.
Mohammed urged residents to take sick children to designated health facilities rather than rely on unverified local remedies.
The Director, FCT Public Health Department, Teresa Nwachukwu, said children aged five to nine years were currently the most vulnerable group.
She urged parents and caregivers to ensure children receive all recommended childhood vaccines and seek prompt medical attention when symptoms occur.
Nwachukwu said the FCT maintains outbreak-response structures covering surveillance, case management and risk communication.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, represented by Hanatu Bello, said it was providing technical and operational support to the FCT response.
The World Health Organization, represented by Dr. Jibril Alkasim on behalf of the FCT Coordinator, Imaobong Adebayo, also said it was supporting the response.
Adebayo said vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks showed the need to close immunisation gaps, adding that the WHO would support local health teams with field operations, active case searches and efforts to increase vaccination coverage among vulnerable populations.
