By Wumi Oyehan
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has confirmed diphtheria outbreak in Abuja, which has claimed the lives of two patients out of five laboratory-confirmed cases.
Mandate Secretary, Health Services and Environmental Secretariat, FCTA, Dr Adedolapo Fasawe, revealed this during a community sensitisation and advocacy event on the disease in Karshi.
She revealed that the FCT Administration had investigated 15 suspected cases as of last week. Out of the total number, five were confirmed by laboratory testing, resulting in two fatalities, while several patients have been successfully treated and discharged.
Fasawe explained that diphtheria is a severe bacterial infection affecting the nose, throat, and occasionally the skin, with early symptoms including fever, cough, and catarrh, which can progress to neck swelling and severe breathing difficulties.
The Secretary cautioned residents against attempting self-treatment or handling pseudo-membranes that form at the back of infected throats.
Highlighting a tragic incident where a child bled to death after a local barber attempted to cut a throat membrane, she urged community members to report any suspected cases immediately to public health authorities.
To contain the spread, she stated that the FCTA has deployed a multidisciplinary Incident Management Team to Karshi and surrounding rural and urban areas to track contacts, administer preventative antibiotics, and intensify community engagement in local languages, including Hausa and Gbagyi.
Addressing local concerns, Chief of Karshi, Ismaila Mohammed, clarified that the recorded fatalities did not occur directly within Karshi town, but in a neighboring border settlement along Nasarawa State.
Mohammed, who was represented by the District Head of Karshi, Alhaji Ahmed Doka, expressed appreciation for the quick intervention of the government and pledged the commitment of traditional and religious leaders to ensure all residents present sick children to designated health centers rather than seeking unverified local remedies.
Another speaker, Hanatu Bello, who represented the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), assured that the agency is offering full technical and operational backing to the FCT to interrupt the chain of transmission and establish effective risk communication across all public domains.
FCT Coordinator of the World Health Organization (WHO), Imaobong Adebayo, highlighted the availability and safety of free routine childhood vaccines, noting that vaccine-preventable outbreaks underscore the urgent need to bridge immunisation gaps.
Represented by the Dr Jibril Alkasim, Adebayo reiterated WHO’s commitment to assisting local health teams in field operations, active case searches, and driving up vaccination coverage among vulnerable groups.
Director, FCT Public Health Department, Teresa Nwachukwu, corroborated the Secretary in further reassuring residents that there is no cause for panic as the FCTA was capable and ready to contain the disease.
Nwachukwu revealed that the FCT health system maintains fully active outbreak response structures across surveillance, case management, and risk communication.
Noting that available data indicates that children aged five to nine remain the most vulnerable demography, she emphasised that adherence to childhood immunization schedules, maintaining clean environments, and early presentation at healthcare facilities remain the ultimate defenses to eliminate diphtheria completely across the Territory.