FCT health secretariat debunks viral diphtheria claim, urges vaccination

A post circulating on social media claimed that a resident of an Abuja estate had contracted diphtheria after eating sliced watermelon. It included a photograph of the person, an address and a diagnosis, none of which health officials could confirm.

In a statement on Tuesday, 29 September, Dr Adedolapo Fasawe, Mandate Secretary of the FCT Health Services and Environment Secretariat, said a Rapid Response Team from the FCT Public Health Department and AMAC visited the location on 28 September. The team could not confirm the person in the photograph, the address or the diagnosis. Estate management did not recognise the resident, and checks of the FCT diphtheria line list and National Reference Laboratory records in Gaduwa found no matching case.

Dr Fasawe stressed that this finding applies only to the viral claim. The FCT outbreak is real and continuing, with most cases among children aged five to nine, many of them unvaccinated. She urged parents to ensure children get the three primary doses of the pentavalent vaccine. She also advised prompt medical checks for fever, sore throat, neck swelling or difficulty swallowing, and urgent care for breathing difficulty.

Earlier in September, FCT health officials confirmed five laboratory-confirmed diphtheria cases and two deaths, mostly in Karshi and nearby communities on the border with Nasarawa State, Leadership reported.

She asked the public not to forward the unverified post or stigmatise communities or food vendors. She also advised people to rely on official NCDC updates, including the toll-free line 6232.