Plateau State has recorded 23 deaths from suspected diphtheria in the past two weeks, with nine patients now receiving treatment in two hospitals in Jos as health authorities work to limit further transmission.
The state has recorded 143 suspected cases within the same period. The Plateau State Commissioner for Health, Nicholas Baamlong, made this known in an interview with Channels Television.
Nine patients are currently on admission at the Jos University Teaching Hospital, JUTH, and Plateau Specialist Hospital, Jos. The affected patients are being treated in isolation.
The number of deaths and suspected cases has also exposed shortages of diphtheria antitoxin and special containers needed to collect samples for laboratory confirmation.
Shortage affects treatment and testing
Baamlong identified the shortage of antitoxin as the biggest challenge facing the state in treating patients.
“The biggest challenge is getting antitoxin, and most of them are presenting late,” the commissioner said.
Diphtheria is a highly contagious bacterial disease. It can pass from one person to another through contact, coughing, sneezing and close association.
The commissioner said health workers were also having difficulty confirming suspected cases because samples must be collected in special containers before they can be sent to laboratories.
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“We are having challenges with the diagnosis because the sample is supposed to be collected in a special container so that we can send it for confirmation, but we do not have such containers,” he said.
The shortage creates a problem at the testing stage, as suspected cases need samples collected and transported in the required containers before laboratory confirmation can take place.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, NCDC, is aware of the situation, Baamlong said. The state is seeking support from the agency for antitoxin and the special containers.
“The NCDC is aware, and we are hoping that they will assist us with the antitoxin and the special containers,” he said.
Plateau turns to traditional rulers for public awareness
The state government has also activated awareness campaigns in communities as part of its response to the suspected outbreak.
Baamlong said traditional rulers and other stakeholders are being used to educate residents about diphtheria and ways to prevent its spread.
“We have so far activated awareness campaigns in communities through traditional rulers and other stakeholders to curtail the spread,” Baamlong said.
The community campaigns come alongside the isolation of affected patients in the two hospitals where the nine patients are receiving care.
The health commissioner said the government is using the campaigns to educate residents on the disease and measures that can help prevent further transmission.
Diphtheria spreads from person to person through respiratory droplets and close contact. This makes coughing, sneezing and close association among the routes through which infection can pass.
The 143 suspected cases recorded in two weeks have been accompanied by 23 deaths, according to the figures given by the commissioner.
The current hospital admissions are at JUTH and Plateau Specialist Hospital in Jos, where the nine patients are being treated in isolation.
The state is now seeking support from the NCDC to address the shortages of antitoxin and special sample containers, as its community awareness programme continues.
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