THE Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has confirmed a diphtheria outbreak in Abuja, with two deaths recorded so far.
Speaking at a community sensitisation and advocacy forum in Karshi, the Mandate Secretary for Health Services and Environmental Secretariat, Dr Adedolapo Fasawe, moved to calm nerves after the confirmation.
She disclosed that out of 15 suspected cases probed up to last week, five were confirmed through laboratory tests. The outbreak has so far resulted in two deaths, while several other patients have received treatment and been discharged.
Dr Fasawe described diphtheria as a serious bacterial infection that targets the nose, throat and sometimes the skin. Early warning signs include fever, cough and catarrh. If not treated quickly, it can advance to neck swelling and severe breathing problems.
She warned residents not to try home remedies or to touch the greyish patches, called pseudo-membranes, that form at the back of an infected person’s throat.
She cited one heartbreaking case in which a child died from bleeding after a local barber tried to cut off a throat membrane. Her advice: report any suspected case immediately to public health officials.
To stop further spread, the FCTA has sent a multidisciplinary Incident Management Team to Karshi and adjoining rural and urban communities. Their work includes tracing contacts, giving preventive antibiotics, and ramping up public education in local languages such as Hausa and Gbagyi.
The Chief of Karshi, Ismaila Mohammed, clarified that the two deaths did not happen inside Karshi town itself, but in a border community along Nasarawa State. Represented by the District Head, Alhaji Ahmed Doka, he thanked the government for its swift response and promised that traditional and religious leaders would push parents to take sick children to approved health centres instead of unproven local treatments.
Hanatu Bello, speaking for the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), said the agency is providing full technical and operational support to break the transmission chain and strengthen risk communication across all public spaces.
FCT Coordinator for the World Health Organization (WHO), Imaobong Adebayo, represented by Dr Jibril Alkasim, stressed that free routine childhood vaccines are available and safe. She said outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases show why closing immunisation gaps matters now. WHO, she added, will back local teams with field work, active case searches, and efforts to raise vaccine coverage among vulnerable groups.
Director of the FCT Public Health Department, Teresa Nwachukwu, backed Dr Fasawe’s reassurance. She said there is no reason to panic because the FCT health system has active outbreak structures in place for surveillance, case management and public communication.
She noted that children between the ages of five and nine are currently most at risk. According to her, staying on schedule with childhood immunisations, keeping surroundings clean, and seeking care early at health facilities remain the strongest ways to wipe out diphtheria across the Territory.
