Following the renewed outbreak of Diphtheria infections in some parts of Osun state , Governor Ademola Adeleke has ordered that an Emergency Response Centre should be set up immediately to contain the spread of the disease, launch contact tracing and treat those who have been infected.
The governor’s spokesman, Mr. Olawale Rasheed in a statement made available to Team@orientactualmags.com noted that the aforementioned directives were issued after receiving the situation report made available by the state Ministry of Health in respect of the outbreak of the disease in the state.
The disease, the statement noted, has claimed one life in Osogbo with other suspected cases undergoing testing.
‘I have directed that the state emergency response be reactivated. As a matter of urgency, the confirmed case in Osogbo is to be immediately followed up with contact tracing to ascertain status of those who had been in contact with the deceased victim.
Additionally, emergency treatment must be made available to the infected. We are in touch with the National Centre for Disease Control for exchange of information and technical support. I want to assure our people that proactive steps are being taken to stop the spread of the disease.
Our people must be vigilant and observe precautions the Ministry of Health will soon be issuing. We must never forget to immunize our children and wards. Your government is on top of this medical development’ the governor said.
The statement also noted that the health ministry officials had earlier briefed the governor on the recent resurgence of diphtheria in the state, informing him that a suspected Diphtheria patient aged 6 years had developed the sign and symptoms on the 25th of June 2023 and died of the infection on July 7th.
The Ministry further noted that the detailed case investigation, contact tracing, line listing, follow up and Active Case Search in the community of the index case and retroactive case search at the Health facilities within the community are underway.
‘Close contact (including health workers) of the index case were line listed, monitored and placed on medication.
Knowledge Attitude and Perception form was administered to the household within the community, so as to access their knowledge about the disease.
More sensitization was done at both community and the health facilities, as people were not conversant with the disease.
As a follow up to the governor’s directive, the Ministry has embarked on a number of action namely production and Distribution of handbills, flyers and billboards;. training of health workers on case definitions and Infection Prevention and Control of diphtheria; production and airing of jingle on Prevention of Diphtheria; training and retraining of health workers on sample collection of diphtheria; increasing awareness in respect of immunization acceptability; building capacity of LGA Disease Surveillance and Notification Officers on case detection, sample collection, transportation and management ; and risk communication of the disease should be intensified in the state and its environs for easy detection’ the statement also quoted the health ministry officials to have submitted.
The Ministry has further advised members of the public to ensure that their children and wards are fully vaccinated, avoid crowded environments, consult doctors in case of symptoms and eat fruits and vegetables.
Diphtheria is a serious infection caused by strains of bacteria called Corynebacterium diphtheriae which makes toxin. It can lead to difficulty breathing, heart rhythm problems, and even death -Team@orientactualmags.com
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