By Isma’il Adamu
At least 50 people have died of diphtheria in Katsina State where an outbreak of the fatal disease has already spread to 29 of the 34 Local Government Areas.
With over 1,000 persons infected, isolation and treatment facilities have been overstretched as most secondary health centers in the State have ran out of bed space to admit patients.
Speaking on the wave of infections, the Acting Executive Secretary of the Katsina State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Shaima’u Kabir, listed local government areas that were worst-hit to include Bakori, Kankia, Katsina, Mani, Daura and Funtua which has the highest number of reported suspected cases.
She noted that the state government has procured 650,000 doses of diphtheria vaccines as 67,670 eligible persons had received the Td vaccine, while 24,103 children had received the pentavalent vaccine across five LGAs.
“The response is being coordinated by the State Emergency Preparedness and Rapid Response Team and the Katsina State Primary Health Care Development Agency, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF, WHO and other development partners.
“The response team operates under the Incident Management System, with regular coordination meetings, active surveillance, contact tracing, investigation of suspected cases and continuous analysis of epidemiological data”, she said.
Meanwhile, in the absence of enough isolation and treatment facilities in most of the local government areas, Dr. Kabir explained that patients were referred to tertiary health facilities which have more equipment and personnel to handle the cases.
However, findings reveal that some of the facilities were also overstretched, including the Federal Teaching Hospital Katsina which officials say was also overwhelmed by the number of suspected and confirmed cases that flocked to it on referral.
The Katsina State government had explained that in a bid to decongest facilities, three new isolation centres were opened at a Maternal and Child Healthcare Hospital in Daura, General Hospital, Funtua, and General Amadi Rimi Orthopaedic Hospital, Katsina.
It blamed the outbreak on low vaccination uptake and delayed presentation of suspected cases at health facilities, urging parents and caregivers to ensure that children receive all recommended vaccines against diphtheria.
Physician Offers Medical Counsel
As the diphtheria outbreak has been blamed on the general lack of awareness on its symptoms, Radio Nigeria spoke with a Physician at Ahmadi Rimi Specialist Hospital, Katsina, Dr. Muhammad-Ishaq Audi, who explained that the disease could appear to be common cold at the early stages.
“Its general symptoms are low-grade fever, sore throat, mild headache, whooping cough and general body weakness. It is caused by a bacterium called ‘Corynebacterium Diphtheriae’ which attaches to the lining of the nose, tonsils, and throat.
“In the throat, it produces a white-coated membrane which can be seen when the patient is examined by a doctor. As for the parents, they should keep vigil of the symptoms in their children and report immediately to the nearest health facility.
“For the most part, diphtheria is airborne, mostly contracted from infected persons when they sneeze, cough or breathe from a close range. They release tiny droplets containing the bacteria into the air. There are other ways of contracting the disease but this is the primary mode of infection”, Dr. Audi said.
He urged members of the public to watch out for the symptoms of the disease, and advised government to sensitize people on the need to use Personal Protective Equipment, observe physical distancing and present their children for the complete round of immunization against diphtheria.
Dr. Audi stressed that vaccination remains the most effective way to prevent diphtheria, urging government and health authorities to intensify public enlightenment on preventive measures to check the outbreak.
“People need to understand how diphtheria spreads and how to protect themselves. Government should use radio, TV and other forms of mass media to sensitize people on the need to take precautionary measures against the disease.
“Immunization in children is also very essential for the prevention of bacterial and viral infections. For diphtheria, the Katsina State government provides free rounds of immunization for children because they are more prone to the infection as their body’s immunity is not fully developed.
“Children are administered about five rounds of immunization, and parents are required to take their children to health facilities for this procedure which is simple, accessible and life-saving.”
Dr. Audi cautioned members of the public against self-medication when they observe symptoms that include low-grade fever, mild headache, sore throat and whooping cough which could be mistaken for symptoms of common cold.
“It should be part of the public sensitization to strongly discourage people from patronizing patent medicines stores to obtain cough syrups for use as treatment for diphtheria. It is totally ineffective and could jeopardize their health”, he warned.
Editing by BASIRAT MEMUDU
