Diphtheria: Osun Closes Emergency Response Centres

OSUN State government has closed the emergency response centres which were reactivated following the outbreak of Diphtheria in July this year. 

The Commissioner for Health in the state, Barr. Jola Akintola, said Osun has not recorded any case of diphtheria in the last three months.

However, due to the upsurge in the numbers of recorded cases of diphtheria in 19 states, including Osun, the Federal Government has called on the affected states to reintroduce face mask-wearing at public gatherings.

But Akintola said the state government would follow the suggestion of the Federal Government on the reintroduction of face mask when the need arises.

Akintola, in an interview with OSUN DEFENDER yesterday, said the state had embarked on contact tracing with over 200 samples taken to the laboratory of which only three tested positive.

Of the three cases, Akintola said two were from Ilesa East local government while the third person who was from Osogbo local government was lost to the disease. 

Akintola disclosed that the state has closed the emergency response centres since there was no any fresh recorded cases.

The state government had ordered immediate activation of the emergency response centre to curb the spread of diphtheria following the death of a six-year-old person on July 11, 2023.

According to the government, the deceased developed symptoms of diphtheria on June 25 and died of the infection on July 7.

Diphtheria is a highly contagious vaccine-prevented disease caused by strains of bacteria called Corynebacterium. It caused difficulty breathing, heart rhythm problems and death.

The Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the National Primary Health Care Agency, Dr Faisal Shuaib, on Wednesday, said 19 states and the Federal Capital Territory have recorded over 14,000 suspected cases of diphtheria so far.

Shuaib, however, disclosed that over 10,000 of the cases occurred in Kano State, which is the epicentre of the outbreak.OSUN DEFENDER gathered that 73 per cent of the reported diphtheria cases occur in children aged one to 14 years, while 80 per cent of those affected have not received any vaccination.