BREAKING: 12 Diphtheria Cases Confirmed At Kano Girls’ College
Twelve cases of diphtheria have been confirmed at a girls' college in Kano State, Nigeria, prompting an urgent response from health authorities. Officials are calling for a large-scale vaccination effort to contain the outbreak.
Why it matters
The outbreak highlights critical public health challenges and vaccine supply shortages in specific regions of Nigeria.
Twelve cases of diphtheria have been confirmed at the First Lady’s College, Mariri, in Kumbotso Local Government Area of Kano State.
The Director-General of the Kano State Centre for Disease Control (KNCDC), Prof. Muhammad Adamu Abbas, said the agency immediately sent a response team to the school following reports.
According to Abbas, the agency carried out tests on 313 suspected cases, with 12 returning positive results after an active search for infections among students.
“We received the report on Wednesday and went there immediately for investigation and response aimed at curtailing further spread of the disease,” he said.
He said the agency had provided medication to suspected contacts and educated other students about the disease as part of its containment measures.
Abbas, however, identified the shortage of vaccines as a major challenge, saying the school, which has more than 2,000 students, needs a large-scale vaccination exercise to prevent further infections.
Also covering this story
2 other newsrooms covered this event. We read each version separately.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in