Osun record first case of diphtheria, Adeleke pledges to ensure citizens’ safety

Osun State Government on Monday revealed that the state has recorded the first case of diphtheria disease in Ilesha East local government area of the state and assured its citizens to remain calm. All necessary machinery had been put in place to ensure their lives were secured medically.

The spokesperson to the state governor, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, who made this known in Osogbo, hinted that a middle-aged man contracted the disease and had been in isolation in an undisclosed hospital for proper medical attention.

He remarked, “the victim had been isolated and placed on treatment, and the state government had also begun contract tracing and searching for others who might have been infected with the disease in other locations across the state.”

“The state government has also begun sensitisation programmes for residents on how to prevent the disease.”

H further stressed that the government had commenced training health workers on treating diphtheria, distributing preventive materials to hospitals, and sensitising state residents through radio jingles and other programmes.

According to him,” the government is also carrying out Production and distribution of IEC materials. Training health workers on case definitions and Infection Prevention and Control of Diphtheria. Production and airing of jingle on prevention and Training of Health workers on sample collection of Diphtheria”.

Also Read: Warning: Diphtheria outbreak in Nigeria- NCDC

Mallam Olawale, however, explained also that, “What the state is doing to curtail the spread of Diphtheria in Osun State is community active case search and community sensitisation during the active case search, retroactive case search in health facilities in the affected LGA, contact tracing and follow up of the index case.”

It will be recalled that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) had earlier said it was monitoring the diphtheria situation in Yobe and Osun States, where it was picked up.