FCTA allays fears as Diphtheria claims two lives

…Residents warned against self-medication

By Stanley Onyekwere

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has moved to calm public concern following a confirmed diphtheria outbreak in Abuja that has claimed two lives out of five laboratory-confirmed cases.

Mandate Secretary for Health Services and Environmental Secretariat, Dr. Adedolapo Fasawe, disclosed the figures during a community sensitization and advocacy outreach in Karshi.

She noted that out of 15 suspected cases investigated over the past week, five were confirmed, resulting in two fatalities, while remaining patients have been successfully treated and discharged.

Dr. Fasawe warned residents against self-medication or attempting to physically clear pseudo-membranes from infected throats, citing a tragic case where a child bled to death after a local barber attempted to remove a throat membrane. She urged immediate reporting of early symptoms—such as fever, cough, catarrh, neck swelling, and breathing difficulties—to public health authorities.

According to her, yo contain the spread, the FCTA has deployed a multidisciplinary Incident Management Team across Karshi and neighboring rural and urban areas to track contacts, administer prophylactic antibiotics, and conduct awareness drives in Hausa and Gbagyi.

Clarifying local reports, the Chief of Karshi, Ismaila Mohammed, represented by District Head Alhaji Ahmed Doka, noted that the recorded deaths occurred in a border settlement adjacent to Nasarawa State rather than Karshi town proper.

He pledged the full support of traditional leaders to ensure sick children are taken to designated health facilities instead of receiving unverified local treatments.

Representative of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Hanatu Bello confirmed the agency is providing full technical and operational support to break the transmission chain.

Also, the World Health Organization (WHO) through its FCT Coordinator, Imaobong Adebayo (represented by Dr. Jibril Alkasim) emphasized the safety and availability of free routine childhood vaccines, pledging continued WHO field support and active case searches.

On her part, Director, FCT Public Health Department, Teresa Nwachukwu reassured residents that active surveillance, case management, and risk communication structures are fully operational, advising that adherence to immunization schedules and early hospital presentation remain the strongest defenses for vulnerable children aged five to nine.