The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has confirmed the outbreak of Diphtheria in parts of the city of Abuja.

A deadly mouth disease, which has now claimed the life of a four-year-old boy out of five reported cases.

The FCT Director, Public Health Department, Dr. Sadiq Abdulrahman, who confirmed the breakout on Monday said, information gathered so far indicates that the disease was imported from neighbouring Niger State.

He said: “Two weeks ago, we got information from a community within the FCT of eight cases and that made our team to pick some samples.

“The samples were taken to the National Reference Laboratory, Gaduwa, and the NCDC, and one of the suspected cases came out positive.”

Abdulrahman urged residents to report any strange symptoms, particularly respiratory challenges to relevant authorities and tasked them to maintain good personal hygiene.

Also speaking, the Executive Secretary, FCT Primary Health Care Board, Dr. Yahaya Vatsa, warned that unvaccinated people who lived in crowded and unhygienic environments were at high risk of contracting the disease.

Yahaya urged residents to ensure that their children were fully vaccinated, in line with the National Childhood Immunization Schedule.

“To reduce the risk of contracting the disease, FCT residents are hereby advised to ensure that their children are fully vaccinated with three doses of the pentavalent vaccine. This is recommended in the National Childhood Immunisation Schedule.”