The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has announced the outbreaks of suspected cases of diphtheria in some part of Niger State.
The Centre however, assured that it will have a sustained collaboration with the Niger State Government in curtailing further outbreaks towards safeguarding public health.
Speaking with Journalists during a two-day training on Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) and Case Management during Disease Outbreaks organized by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) with funding from the United States Government, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) said with the outbreak in Niger state, the NCDC representative, Dr. Ali Wada Aliyu said the NCDC has begun the training and equipping of IPC focal persons with facility-specific preparedness and response plans to strengthen the prevention, detection, and management of disease outbreaks in line with national guidelines.
According to him “the NCDC is committed to supporting Niger State through the provision of medical commodities, treatment supplies, and technical expertise to strengthen disease outbreak preparedness and response”.
It should be noted that, the IPC focal persons and clinicians are drawn from the 25 local government areas of the state,
He stressed that strengthening infection prevention and control measures in healthcare facilities is critical to reducing the spread of infectious diseases and protecting both health workers and patients.
Confirming the outbreak of suspected cases of diphtheria, the Director of Public Health, Niger State Ministry of Health, Dr. Ibrahim Idris said the suspected cases of diphtheria which was reported in the Fadikpe area of Minna had already claimed a child’s life.
He added that one child had recovered, while two others have been evacuated to a hospital for proper medical care.
Accordingly, he said “preliminary investigations by health officials indicate that the illness, initially suspected to be an unknown disease, is likely diphtheria.”
“A team from the Ministry and partners visited the affected community, interacted with residents, examined some of the patients, and collected samples for laboratory confirmation.
“Currently, surveillance and response efforts are ongoing in the area and preliminary findings showed some of the affected children were either partially immunized or had not received the diphtheria vaccine.”
He emphasized that diphtheria is a vaccine-preventable disease and urged parents and caregivers to ensure their children complete the routine immunization schedule.
Dr. Idris assured residents that the Ministry of Health is closely monitoring the situation and appealed for calm while awaiting laboratory results.
Representatives of UNICEF while reiterating their commitments to support the state in tackling the outbreak disclosed that complete immunisation remains the most effective and safest protection against vaccine-preventable diseases and urges all parents to take advantage of available immunisation services at health facilities across the state.
