By Uzair Adam
Health authorities in Kano State have confirmed 12 cases of diphtheria at First Lady’s College, Mariri, in Kumbotso Local Government Area, following the screening of 313 suspected cases at the boarding school.
The outbreak, which affects a school with more than 2,000 students, prompted the deployment of a Rapid Response Team by the Kano State Centre for Disease Control (KNCDC) to investigate the situation and prevent further spread of the disease.
A staff member of the school, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told journalists that the outbreak was detected among students, which prompted health officials to intervene on Thursday.
The source disclosed that one student who developed severe symptoms had been admitted to the Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH), Kano, while other affected students were receiving treatment within the school premises.
The source added that the response team included officials from Kumbotso, Tarauni and Nassarawa local government areas.
Confirming the development, the Director-General of KNCDC, Prof. Muhammad Adamu Abbas, said the agency received a report of the outbreak on Wednesday and immediately dispatched officials to investigate and contain the disease.
“We tested 313 suspected cases, out of which 12 were clinically confirmed. We conducted active case searches in the school and confirmed the cases,” Abbas said.
He explained that the agency had also administered medication to suspected contacts and sensitised other students on the symptoms and prevention of the disease.
However, Abbas expressed concern over the shortage of vaccines, warning that the school urgently needed a mass immunisation exercise to protect its large student population.
“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 outbreak has renewed concerns about the resurgence of diphtheria in Kano, following several reported cases and deaths in the state.
The Daily Reality recalls ast month that a father in the Danbare area of Kano State reportedly lost five children to diphtheria within eight days.
Abbas said the KNCDC was continuing to receive disease reports through its network of Disease Surveillance and Notification Officers (DSNOs) across the state’s 44 local government areas.
He added that the agency was intensifying surveillance and response activities to contain the outbreak.
The KNCDC director-general further disclosed that the agency had previously requested nine million doses of diphtheria vaccines to support mass immunisation across the state but received only 500,000 doses.
