A Medical expert residing in Kaduna, Doctor Hassan Dadi, has called for concerted efforts at ensuring routine immunisation, disease surveillance and availability of antitoxin against diphtheria to curb its re-emergence.
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Dadi, of the Department of Clinical Services, National Ear Care Center, Kaduna made the call at the opening of the 2021 Scientific Conference of the Nigeria Medical Association, Kaduna State chapter.
Diphtheria is a condition that occurs as a result of serious bacterial infection known as corynebacterium diphtheriaea which affects the mucous membranes of the throat and nose.
According to him, there is rising fatality especially amongst unvaccinated children due to complicated diphtheria.
The Doctor disclosed that, though it could spread easily from one person to another, diphtheria could be prevented through routine vaccination.
“The condition is typically spread through person-to-person contact or through contact with objects that have the bacteria on them such as a cup or used tissue. You may also get diphtheria if you are around an infected person when they sneeze, cough or blow their noses”.
“Before the vaccination era, diphtheria was a leading cause of child mortality.
It was practically eliminated after introduction of the vaccine in the 1940s“, he stressed.
Dadi however mentioned that, diphtheria now appears to be re-emerging as a public health challenge in developing countries, especially in the last few decades.
He said experts in the Ear Care Center conducted a six-month retrospective review of the clinical characteristics of diphtheria cases presented to the hospital and that biodata and clinical information were extracted from the patients’ clinical files and analysed descriptively.
The Doctor further stated that a total of nine cases were identified, comprising of eight females and one male.
“They all presented with clinical features of bull neck, odynophagia, oropharyngeal membrane that bleeds upon separation, and various complications, including airway obstruction”.
Dadi said the major reasons for ENT referral were throat symptoms and upper airway obstruction, stressing that, most of them were from a low socio-economic background between the ages of six and 12 years.
He added that the case fatality rate was 78 percent and that none had diphtheria antitoxiod therapy.
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