Governor Ademola Adeleke has commanded the immediate reactivation of the State Emergency Response Center to stop the further spread of the deadly disease following the death of a child caused by a recent epidemic of diphtheria in Osogbo, the capital of Osun state.
Olawale Rasheed, the governor’s spokeswoman, said in a statement that the Ministry of Health has started tracking contacts in the neighborhood where the incident happened while additional suspected cases are going through the appropriate testing.
According to the statement, The Ministry had earlier briefed the Governor on the recent resurgence of diphtheria in the state, informing him that a suspected Diphtheria patient aged 6 years was said to have developed the sign and symptoms on the 25th of June, 2023 and died of the infection on July 7th.
It added that 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 ongoing. Close contact (including health workers) of the index case was line listed, monitored and placed on medication.
“I have directed that the state emergency response be reactivated. As a matter of urgency, the confirmed case at Osogbo is to be immediately followed up with contact tracing to ascertain the status of those who had been in contact with the victim.
” Additionally, emergency treatment must be made available to the infected. We are in touch with the National Centre for Disease Control for the exchange of information and technical support. I want to assure our people that proactive steps are being taken to nip in the bud any widespread escalation of the outbreak.
“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”, Governor Adeleke assures.