Diphtheria outbreak has been recorded at the First Lady’s College, Mariri, Kumbotso Local Government area of Kano State, with health authorities confirming 12 cases after tracing hundreds of suspected infections.
A staff member of the school, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Daily Trust on Friday that the outbreak was detected among students of the boarding school, which has over 2,000 students.
The source said officials of the Kano State Centre for Disease Control (KNCDC) swung into action on Thursday after the incident was reported.
According to the source, one of the affected students who developed severe symptoms has been admitted at the Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH), Kano, while 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 Nassarawa local government areas,” the source said.
When contacted, the Director-General of KNCDC, Prof. Muhammad Adamu Abbas, confirmed the development, saying the agency received the report on Wednesday and immediately deployed a team to investigate and contain the spread of the disease.
“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.
The KNCDC boss, however, expressed concern over inadequate vaccine supply, noting that the school requires a mass vaccination campaign to protect its over 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.
The latest development comes amid growing concerns over the resurgence of diphtheria in Kano State.
Only last month, Daily Trust reported the case of a father in the Danbare area of Kano who 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.
He reiterated the need for greater vaccine availability, recalling that the agency had earlier requested nine million vaccine doses to support mass immunisation across the state but received only 500,000 doses.
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