Panic As Multiple Diseases Outbreaks Ravage

•Diphtheria, cholera ravaging various parts of the country

•Nigeria not on high alert on ebola, chikungunya DG NCDC

•Were prepared to address these outbreaks Prof Amodu

•As masses express fear, apprehension

Nigerians are currently living in fear over the recent outbreak of multiple diseases which are either already in the country or imminent, JULIET IBIMINA writes.

One month after the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, issued a warning of chikungunya virus outbreak, the centre has urged members of the public to remain vigilant as there is a new ebola disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC with a fatality rate of about 57%, which poses the threat of spread into the country. The centre in a statement issued in Abuja, last weekend, quoted its Director-General, Dr. Jide Idris, as saying that the country was on high alert, enhancing surveillance at entry points, healthcare facilities, and communities. According to Idris, preparedness has been intensified with infection control, border checks, and community risk communication to prevent importation and transmission.

He encouraged Nigerians to report suspected Ebola cases or unusual illnesses, especially among those with recent travel to affected areas, by calling the NCDC toll-free line 6232 for prompt response, while urging healthcare workers to maintain a high index of suspicion, strictly follow infection prevention protocols, and report any suspected cases immediately to aid rapid containment and treatment efforts.

With this latest alert issued by the NCDC, Nigerians are worried as the country is already facing confirmed outbreaks of diphtheria, cholera, lassa fever and others. For instance, Nigeria has experienced an ongoing diphtheria outbreak that has spread to not less than 27 states particularly in Kano, Bauchi, Yobe, Katsina, Lagos, Osun, Niger States, amongst others.

During the week, it was reported that at least ten children have died following an outbreak of diphtheria in Agaie and Bida local government areas of Niger State.

It was gathered that the affected children were taken to the Federal Medical Centre, FMC, Bida, where they later passed away.

Additional fatalities have also been reported in some communities within the two local government areas since the outbreak began. A resident of Bida, who pleaded anonymity, expressed concern over the rising toll and called for urgent intervention. This is a matter of life and death, and we appeal to the state government to urgently provide drugs to Bida and Agaie general hospitals to curb the spread of the disease to other areas, the resident said.

Meanwhile, cholera has remained a significant public health threat in Nigeria, exacerbated by inadequate water and sanitation infrastructure, poor community-based surveillance, and socio-economic disparities. Earlier in July, Niger State alone recorded 13 deaths and over 236 hospitalisations from cholera.

Currently, Nigeria is experiencing a significant increase in cholera cases, particularly in states like Zamfara and Niger, with the NCDC declaring a national emergency and intensifying preparedness efforts with Zamfara State alone recording over 1,600 suspected cases. Outbreaks are concentrated in flood-affected and displaced communities, with rising numbers attributed to poor sanitation, contaminated water sources, and limited access to healthcare. Interestingly, the government and organisations like the World Health Organisation, WHO, are working to strengthen response systems and build resilience against the ongoing surge.  

According to recent reports, Nigeria has documented hundreds of Lassa fever cases this year, with the NCDC reporting 822 confirmed cases and 155 deaths as of early August. The states with the highest burden of cases include Ondo, Bauchi, Edo, Taraba, and Ebonyi, with Case Fatality Rate, CFR, standing at 18.7%, a notable increase from 2024.

Recall that in July, the Federal Government, through the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, NCDC, issued an alert, warning Nigerians of the outbreak of infectious diseases across the country. The NCDC, while issuing the warning via its website, confirmed the widespread outbreak of cholera, dengue fever, Mpox, diphtheria, and yellow fever.

For many Nigerians, this current situation of multiple disease outbreaks is quite alarming. According to a Akpana Ogar, a social worker with the Institute of Human Virology of Nigeria, while the NSCDC, the ministry of health and other development partners are educating and training health workers to put up a reliable response to these outbreaks, I can tell you that a lot of Nigerians are currently living in fear, so on our part, we have to do more to sensitise them so they do not allow fear to cause more harm.

In a similar vein, Justin Muazu, a caregiver to an elderly patient at the General Hospital, Karshi in the FCT said: You see, as I am here taking care of my uncle, I can tell you that not only me but others too that I have so far communicated with, both patients and caregivers are afraid of all these red alerts we keep hearing about Mpox, cholera, chikungunya, ebola, lassa fever and all these other disease outbreaks. Many of the patients are afraid that they do not come to the hospital to cure a disease and end uo contracting a more dangerous one. Or for those of us that are caregivers, we do not want to end up with any deadly disease while trying to take care of our loved ones. There is real fear in the society at the moment.

Speaking to this medium on the ongoing outbreaks of the various diseases, Benjamin Amodu, a professor of phytomedicine from the Tiune biblical University, USA, and one of Nigerias foremost phtomedicine experts offers hope. Here at Halamin, we have cures for viral diseases ranging from viral hepatitis, COVID-19, Herpes simplex, Ebola, and even HIV which is currently being validated, so we are prepared to do our best to tame the spread.

Mind you, we have shown evidence in our laboratory work in the past that we can also cure the Zika virus because during our experiment, our drug was shown to increase the CD8 count, which is a major factor in Zika and other related viruses. So I think as a country, we are ready. We on our part are ready to partner with the Nigerian government in this area that we have the knowledge so that we can save our own country.

With alternative medicine, I think I can say boldly, just like it is in the Bible and Quran that when God created the earth and created the human beings, he also provided them with solutions to their problems, but we in Nigeria especially have refused to conduct research into alternative medicines which I call natures cure.

“After all, how did modern medicine begin? Is it not from plants? It’s the need to manufacture them in large quantities that made them to study their structures and begin to synthetise them. That is why we have gone back to the plant-based natural medicine because it has no side effects unlike the synthetic medicines.

He said with Nigerias biodiversity, the country can take a foremost position in alternative medicine globally.

He added: More so as America has projected to make $6 trillion in herbal medicine from now till the year 2050, let us challenge ourselves in that regard and get people to come here on medical tourism.
On the part of the NCDC, it has continued to work with state governments, tertiary institution laboratories, and other development partners to strengthen surveillance, early detection, and rapid response systems to tackle these various disease outbreaks.

Additionally, the centre is also intensifying public awareness campaigns and collaborating with health, environmental, and climate sectors under the One Health approach so that Nigeria can tame the tide of the spread of these diseases.