The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has said that 4,017 persons have already been vaccinated with the diphtheria vaccine as the death toll from the disease hits 10.
UNICEF’s Health Specialist, Dr. Olusoji Akinleye, said this during a virtual media briefing organized by the Fund in Owerri on Friday.
C- Advocate reports that diphtheria, a highly contagious bacterial infection caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae, broke out in Imo, with an index case reported in Mbutu, Aboh Mbaise council area of the state.
UNICEF is supporting the Government of Nigeria’s response efforts in case management, infection prevention and control, reactive vaccination, risk communication, and community engagement to contain the outbreak.
Akinleye spoke on the theme: “Diphtheria Outbreak Response In Imo State “.
He said that with 10 fatalities already recorded according to available statistics, it was imperative to restrict and contain the spread of the disease to prevent a possible “national disaster “, as the airport “sits very close to Aboh Mbaise”.
He commended the Imo state Immunisation Officer, Dr Chibuzo Anyaehie for ensuring prompt vaccination of persons across the four affected council areas of Aboh Mbaise, Ahiazu Mbaise, Owerri North, and Owerri Municipal.
Speaking, Anyaehie said that 4,017 persons had already received the diphtheria vaccine, adding that the state has, so far, recorded 79 suspected cases and seven confirmed cases.
“ We have established treatment centres across all Primary Health Centres in Mbutu, and the Aboh General Hospital, with an additional 70 doses of vaccines just supplied “, she said.
Also, UNICEF’s Communications Officer, Dr Ijeoma Onuoha-Ogwe, thanked health intervention officers from the Imo state Ministry of Health for their efforts in containing the outbreak.
She charged journalists to adequately sensitise the general public on the preventive management of the disease to curb its spread.
UNICEF’s Water Sanitation and Hygiene Specialist, Mrs Rebekah Gabriel, harped on the need for regular handwashing with soap water and greater collaboration with traditional rulers and other critical stakeholders for effective grassroots sensitization. Earlier in her opening remarks, UNICEF’s Chief of Enugu Field Office, Mrs Juliet Chiluwe, thanked the media for effective partnerships and urged journalists to amplify awareness of the outbreak.