By Zaharaddeen Ishaq Abubakar (Katsina Times)
The Katsina State Government has confirmed suspected cases of diphtheria in all the 29 local government areas (LGAs) of the state.
The Acting Executive Secretary of the Katsina State Primary Health Care Agency (KSPHCA), Dr Shaima’u Kabir, disclosed this on Sunday during a press briefing at the agency’s headquarters in Katsina.
She said although suspected cases had been recorded across the 29 LGAs, 24 LGAs had the highest burden, while other affected areas included Kankia, Katsina, Mai’adua and Daura.
Dr Kabir described the situation as a serious concern but assured residents that the state government was taking measures to contain the outbreak.
She said diphtheria was a serious but preventable infectious disease that mainly affects the respiratory tract and could spread from person to person, particularly in communities with low vaccination coverage.
According to her, the state Emergency Preparedness and Rapid Response Team, in collaboration with the KSPHCA, Ministry of Health, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and development partners, had intensified surveillance and response activities.
She said active surveillance, contact tracing, listing of suspected cases, data review and chemoprophylaxis of contacts were ongoing in affected communities.
The official said the state commenced a reactive vaccination campaign on August 25 in five high-risk LGAs.
She said the exercise was being conducted in collaboration with the NPHCDA, with logistics support from UNICEF.
“As of Day Three of the exercise, 67,670 eligible persons had received Td vaccine, while 24,103 children had received pentavalent vaccine across the five implementing LGAs,” she said.
She added that the state government had secured 650,000 additional doses of diphtheria-containing vaccines to expand vaccination in high-risk and affected communities.
Dr Kabir said the government had established three additional isolation centres as part of efforts to strengthen case management.
The centres, she said, were located at MCHC Kankia, General Hospital Funtua and General Amadi Rimi Orthopaedic Hospital.
She added that drugs, medical consumables and infection prevention and control materials were being provided to support the NCDC isolation centre at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Katsina.
“Case management drugs are also being pre-positioned in affected areas, while health workers are receiving additional training on surveillance and case management,” she said.
The Acting Executive Secretary said the government had also intensified active case search, contact tracing, surveillance and chemoprophylaxis of contacts.
She said infection prevention and control measures were being strengthened in health facilities, with IPC commodities distributed to affected LGAs.
According to Dr Kabir, the response was being hampered by inadequate vaccination uptake, late presentation of suspected cases to health facilities and the state’s porous international border with Niger Republic.
She said the government was working with its partners to address the challenges while strengthening routine immunisation to reduce the number of children vulnerable to vaccine-preventable diseases.
She urged parents and caregivers to ensure that their children received all recommended vaccines.
She also advised residents to report immediately to the nearest health facility if they developed symptoms such as sore throat, fever, difficulty in swallowing or breathing, swelling of the neck, or a thick greyish or whitish membrane in the throat, tonsils or nose.
“Please do not wait until the condition becomes severe and do not attempt to manage a suspected case at home. Early presentation to a health facility can save lives and help prevent transmission,” she said.
She appealed to communities to cooperate with vaccination teams, surveillance officers and health workers deployed to affected areas.
Dr Kabir commended the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, NPHCDA, NCDC, UNICEF, WHO and other development partners for supporting the state’s response.
She also appreciated traditional and religious leaders, local government authorities, community mobilisation teams, frontline health workers, surveillance officers and vaccination teams for their efforts.
She assured residents that the state government, under Governor Dikko Umaru Radda, would continue to provide the necessary resources to contain the outbreak, strengthen surveillance and case management, and improve routine immunisation coverage.
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