FACT CHECK: Is Bill Gates responsible for diphtheria outbreak in Nigeria?

Warning: This story contains graphic images.

If you are a Nigerian and in touch with the news, you’ve most likely read or heard about diphtheria in Nigeria.

Diphtheria is a fatal bacterial infection caused by the corynebacterium species, that affects the nose, throat, and sometimes, skin of an individual.

Some symptoms of diphtheria include fever, runny nose, sore throat, cough, red eyes, neck swelling, and difficulty in breathing.

To curtail the infection, the Nigeria childhood immunisation schedule recommends three doses of pentavalent vaccine (diphtheria toxoid-containing vaccine) for children in the 6th, 10th and 14th week of life.

Even as the federal government through the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says it has intensified its interventions against the disease, many have insinuated that Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is responsible for its outbreak in Nigeria.

In June, Gates visited Nigeria to discuss global health and development with various stakeholders. His visit kicked off in Abuja, where he met President Bola Tinubu after which he visited Niger Republic before returning to Lagos to attend a youth event.

On July 3, after Gates had returned to the US, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) announced the outbreak of diphtheria infection in Abuja after one result from samples taken from suspected cases in a village close to the Dei-Dei area, returned positive.

Sadiq Abdulrahman, the FCT director of the public health department, said the four-year-old who tested positive and died as a result of the illness.

Since Gates had recently visited Nigeria, many linked the news of the outbreak to the visit of the philanthropist and founder of Microsoft.

TheCable found several comments by Nigerians on social media linking the outbreak to Gates.

So that's what bill gates bring come Nigeria be this?

— Kelvin John (@Kelvinrickjay) July 5, 2023

Bill Gates just vissited Abuja, suddenly we have out break Diphtheria.

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— Ifediba (@Ifediba5) July 4, 2023

Hahaha After Bill Gates Visit 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

— YUNGROC (@iamyungroc) July 4, 2023

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Bill Gates left Souvenir.

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Hot pepper soup is the best vaccine.

— PSHEGS (@pshegs) July 5, 2023

Since Bill Gates came. Who knows what he brought to the country?

— DragonBite = Fire 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 (@actuareality) July 6, 2023

This is not particularly surprising given that Gates has previously been accused of creating the COVID pandemic to control people and make huge profits.

Does Gates’ visit to Nigeria have anything to do with the recent diphtheria outbreak in the country?

To answer that, we looked through history.

DIPHTHERIA OUTBREAK IN NIGERIA IS NOT NEW

Diphtheria is not at all new to Nigeria. Abuja is not the first state in Nigeria to record a case of the disease.

Twelve years ago, between February and November 2011, a diphtheria outbreak was reported in Kimba village of Borno and some surrounding settlements. Throughout the outbreak, a total of 98 cases were reported, out of which 21 died. At the time, the NCDC attributed the outbreak and the high fatality rate to low vaccination coverage and delays in diagnosis.

In December 2022, the NCDC was notified of diphtheria outbreaks in Kano and Lagos states. Other states – Katsina, Cross River, Kaduna, Osun and most recently, FCT – have subsequently reported cases.

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Since December 2022, we have reported multiple #diphtheria outbreaks in different states across the country.

Despite the availability of a safe and cost-effective vaccine in the country, the majority of confirmed cases were unvaccinated

🔗Read our statement following the… pic.twitter.com/pVxgmOSw5f

— NCDC (@NCDCgov) July 6, 2023

Between December last year and June 30, a total of 798 cases of diphtheria have been confirmed and 80 deaths recorded from 33 LGAs in eight states. Abuja accounts for only one case and one death.

VERDICT

The claim that Gates is responsible for the recent diphtheria outbreak is false. 

Nigeria recorded diphtheria cases in Borno twelve years ago, and recently announced an outbreak in some states 6 months before Gates visited. Therefore, the circulating claim is another conspiracy theory linked to the founder of Microsoft.