The Federal Capital Territory has confirmed Diphtheria outbreak in some parts of Abuja, the nations capital.
This was confirmed by the FCT Director, Public Health Department, Dr. Sadiq Abdulrahman, at a news conference on Monday, 3rd July, in Abuja.
Diphtheria is an infection of the nose and throat, it is caused by strains of bacteria that appears like sheet of thick, grey matter, which makes breathing difficult.
Speaking at the conference, Abdulrahman said the disease had already killed a four-year-old, adding that the disease was confirmed after one result from the samples taken from suspected cases in a village close to the Dei-Dei area, returned positive.
He said, “Two weeks ago, we got information from a community within the FCT of eight cases and that made our team to pick some samples.
“The samples were taken to the National Reference Laboratory, Gaduwa, and the NCDC, and one of the suspected cases came out positive”.
He further implored the masses to report any strange symptoms, adding that they are collaborating with neighbouring states, to checkmate the spread of the disease through border surveillance.
Also speaking, the Executive Secretary, FCT Primary Health Care Board, Yahaya Vatsa, said unvaccinated people living in an unhygienic environments are at high risk of contracting the disease.
He also urged residents to ensure that their children are vaccinated in order to reduce the risk of the disease spread.
His words, “To reduce the risk of contracting the disease, FCT residents are hereby advised to ensure that their children are fully vaccinated with three doses of the pentavalent vaccine.
“This is recommended in the National Childhood Immunization Schedule,” he added.
