Despite Ravages Of Diphtheria, Abuja Community Attributes Outbreak To Spiritual Attack

Despite the loss of 83 lives across the country which include 5 in the Abuja community of Tunga Wakili, Dei-Dei, to the outbreak of Diphtheria, the residents continue to live in denial and have attributed it to spiritual attack.

Diphtheria is a contagious disease caused by the bacterium Corynebacterium diphtheriae and spreads through respiratory droplets or direct contact with an infected individual.

Symptoms of diphtheria include: difficulty in breathing, high fever, cough, general body weakness, a thick gray membrane covering the throat and tonsils, sore throat and neck swelling.

In Tungan Wakili, all the conditions conducive for the spread of the deadly disease are still present, making the people and the residents of the Federal Capital Territory vulnerable to the epidemic.

When THE WHISTLER visited the community, our reporter saw a crowded and unhygienic settlement conducive to an epidemic of Diphteria.

Trash littered the community and flies peching on kitchen utensils strewn about in different households, likely coming from the toilets barely covered.

A guide took the reporter to the household of Mallam Kabir who lost five children to Diphtheria, and it afforded a close view of how the people live.

A narrow, smelly gutter passes through two buildings to his house. The reporter arrived at the household where his four wives went about their chores, and five children- aged 5 to 13- were seen seated outside the room. Two of the children were eating inside the flies-infested compound without minding any danger.

One of his wives, 40-year-old Suwaiba, stays in one of rooms which she shares with her 8 children including one of the five killed by Diphtheria. The co-wives who also lost children could not be interviewed when THE WHISTLER visited. The reporter spoke to Suwaiba after she finished her prayers, sitting on the floor.

Her room has a framed bed, bare foam, an antique wardrobe, and a sewing machine with clothes piled high in baskets and cartons.

THE WHISTLER had earlier reported on 12 July that Suwaiba blamed the death of her four-year-old son on the Kubwa General Hospital which she alleged failed to give a proper diagnosis to her child.

Suwaiba later revealed that the child she had lost to diphtheria was her grandchild, but she had taken custody of the child since she was an infant.

The reporter noticed that like Suwaiba’s house, most houses share similar conditions, and the houses are close to one another, with one serving as an enclosure for the next building, perhaps a reason Diphtheria found a breeding space in Tungan Wakili.

Suwaiba said she did not know anything about Diphtheria as no one had told them anything until after her child’s death.

Other residents also claimed they were unaware of the Diphtheria outbreak in Nigeria, while some believe the disease was the will of God. While some people including Mallam Kabir think of the disease was a spiritual attack.

Kabir attributed the loss of his four children as “the will of God and should not be questioned.”

Confidence Emmanuel, a nurse, who resides in Gwagwa but owns a small pharmacy in the community, also attributed Kabir’s family misfortune to spiritual attack because she had never seen or heard of anything like it before.

She said, “We were not even aware of the diphtheria outbreak or the source. When the first, second, and third child died, we felt it was unusual. At one point, I felt it was something spiritual. I had to tell Mallam Kabir to go and attend to it spiritually until the chief informed the authorities and they confirmed it was a disease outbreak.”

She added that the incident was an eye-opener for the community and herself to be more vigilant about strange symptoms, to take precautions, and to report such for early detection and control.

An elderly woman who requested anonymity said she did not know about diphtheria. She disclosed that rumors were circulating that Mallam Kabir was experiencing terrible luck, a belief fueled by other recent tragedies that had befallen him.

Apart from seeing Diphtheria as a spiritual attack, some residents of Tungan Wakili are also not very receptive to vaccination.

Yusuf Yahaya who runs a public convenience business in the community said some residents are hesitant about vaccination, stating that most times the chief of the community would have to send his children to accompany health workers as a way of reassuring them of the safety of the vaccine.

The Chief of the community, Muhammed Dauda, said he always tries to educate his people about the importance of immunization. He said when he noticed five children died from the same family from similar symptoms he quickly called on the authorities.

“They promptly came, carried out tests, sensitized us, and administered immunization to the children” he said.

Dauda however lamented lack of healthcare centre in his community, adding his people would have to cross a major express road to access healthcare services from another town.

He said he had written severally to the FCT authority to no avail, and urged the government to come to their aid.

Children and adults over 60 years of age who do not have up-to- date vaccinations are susceptible to diphtheria.

The highly contagious disease which has claimed many lives across Nigeria, has been an issue of concern in the country in recent years.

The Nigerian Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) says Diphtheria has killed 80 people with 798 confirmed cases from 33 local government areas in eight states, including the FCT as of June 30, 2023.

According to a recent report from the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), 836 cases of Diphtheria have been reported in 33 LGAs in eight states as of July 27. The 8 states are Cross River, Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, Lagos, Osun, Yobe, and the FCT.

It also revealed that 83 deaths had been reported from the confirmed cases, with an estimated 2,455 suspected cases in 26 states across the country from May 2022 to July 2023.