The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has confirmed five laboratory-positive cases of diphtheria in the FCT, with two deaths recorded, as authorities intensify efforts to prevent further spread of the disease.
The FCTA, however, urged residents not to panic, assuring that it had activated its outbreak response mechanisms to contain the disease and protect vulnerable residents, particularly children.
The Mandate Secretary, Health Services and Environment Secretariat, Dr Adedolapo Fasawe, disclosed the figures in Karshi during a community sensitisation and advocacy programme organised to raise awareness about diphtheria.
Fasawe said 15 suspected cases had been investigated in the territory as of last week, with five subsequently confirmed through laboratory testing.
She said two of the confirmed patients had died, while several others had responded to treatment and been discharged.
According to her, diphtheria is a serious bacterial infection that primarily affects the nose and throat and can, in some cases, affect the skin.
She explained that symptoms could initially appear as fever, cough and catarrh but could rapidly deteriorate into neck swelling and severe difficulty in breathing.
Fasawe particularly warned residents against attempting to remove the pseudo-membrane that forms in the throat of infected persons, stressing that such intervention could result in severe bleeding and death.
She cited the case of a child who allegedly bled to death after a local barber attempted to cut the membrane in the child’s throat.
The secretary therefore urged residents to avoid self-treatment and immediately report suspected cases to health authorities for professional intervention.
To contain the spread, Fasawe disclosed that the FCTA had deployed a multidisciplinary Incident Management Team to Karshi and adjoining communities.
She said the team was conducting contact tracing, administering preventive antibiotics to identified contacts and intensifying community engagement in local languages, including Hausa and Gbagyi.
According to her, the strategy was designed to ensure early detection, prompt treatment and effective interruption of transmission, particularly in communities bordering Nasarawa State.
Meanwhile, the Chief of Karshi, Ismaila Mohammed, represented by the District Head of Karshi, Alhaji Ahmed Doka, clarified that the two fatalities were not recorded within Karshi town itself.
He said the deaths occurred in a neighbouring border settlement along Nasarawa State.
Doka commended the FCTA for its prompt response and pledged the cooperation of traditional and religious leaders in the campaign against the disease.
He urged residents to take sick children to designated health facilities rather than resorting to unverified remedies.
A representative of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Hanatu Bello, said the agency was providing technical and operational support to the FCT to stop further transmission.
Bello added that the NCDC was supporting the territory’s efforts to strengthen surveillance, risk communication and public awareness about the disease.
The FCT Coordinator of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Imaobong Adebayo, represented by Dr Jibril Alkasim, stressed the importance of routine childhood vaccination in preventing diphtheria.
Adebayo said vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks were a reminder of the need to close existing immunisation gaps, assuring residents that routine childhood vaccines remained available and safe.
Similarly, the Director of the FCT Public Health Department, Teresa Nwachukwu, reassured residents that the territory had the capacity to contain the outbreak.
She disclosed that available data showed children between five and nine years remained the most vulnerable age group and urged parents and caregivers to ensure that children received all routine vaccinations.
Nwachukwu also advised residents to maintain clean environments and seek medical attention promptly whenever symptoms associated with diphtheria were observed.
She maintained that early detection, prompt treatment and improved immunisation coverage remained critical to eliminating diphtheria from the FCT.
