A Diphtheria outbreak has been recorded at the First Lady’s College, Mariri, in Kumbotso Local Government Area of Kano State, with health authorities confirming 12 cases after testing 313 suspected infections.
Diphtheria outbreak detected among boarding school students
A staff member of the school, who spoke to Daily Trust on Friday on condition of anonymity, said the outbreak was detected among students of the boarding school, which has over 2,000 students.
According to the source, officials of the Kano State Centre for Disease Control (KNCDC) swung into action on Thursday after the incident was reported. One affected student with severe symptoms has been admitted to the Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH), Kano, while the other affected students are receiving treatment within the school premises.
They came with a Rapid Response Team (RRT), supported by officials from Kumbotso, Tarauni and Nasarawa local government areas,” the source said.
KNCDC response to the Diphtheria outbreak
The Director-General of KNCDC, Prof. Muhammad Adamu Abbas, confirmed the development. He said the agency received the report on Wednesday and immediately deployed a team to investigate and contain the spread.
“We received the report on Wednesday and went there immediately for investigation and response aimed at curtailing further spread of the disease,” he said.
We tested 313 suspected cases, out of which 12 were clinically confirmed. We conducted active case searches in the school and confirmed the cases. We administered medication to all suspected contacts and sensitised other students on the disease,” Abbas added.
Diphtheria vaccine shortage deepens concern in Kano
The KNCDC boss expressed concern over inadequate vaccine supply, noting that the school requires a mass vaccination campaign to protect its more than 2,000 students.
“There is a need for massive vaccination in the school, which we presently do not have. We have to ask for more vaccines to administer to the students,” he said.
He recalled that the agency had earlier requested nine million vaccine doses to support mass immunisation across the state but received only 500,000.
A resurgence of Diphtheria outbreak cases across Kano State
The latest development comes amid growing concern over the resurgence of diphtheria in Kano State. REPORTERS AT LARGE recalls that only last month, a father in the Danbare area of Kano reportedly lost five children to the disease within eight days.
Abbas said the agency continues to receive reports through its network of Disease Surveillance and Notification Officers (DSNOs) across the state’s 44 local government areas, and is intensifying efforts to contain the outbreak.
