Epidemic looms in Kano as fresh diphtheria outbreak kills 10

The deadly Diphtheria disease has killed 10 persons and hundreds of suspected cases admitted in hospitals Kano State in a fresh resurgence that could result in an epidemic.

As a result, the Kano State government has activated special treatment centres across all the secondary and primary healthcare facilities in the state to curtail the spread of the airborne disease.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Abubakar Labaran Yusuf, who confirmed the resurgence, presented the mortality rate to journalists on Friday.

He, however, refuted the escalating figures already in public domain.

Yusuf attributed the resurgence to stark neglect of routine immunisation by the immediate past administration, claiming that the present NNPP administration inherited 18 months of abandoned immunisation.

“When we came in June 2023, we discovered that no routine immunisation exercise was carried out for 18 months. And as at then, Kano was mounted with 80 per cent of the burden. The record then showed 23,207 cases treated and 1,000 mortality.

“When we came, we set up machinery and three rounds of immunisation have been conducted and the cases dropped drastically such that the government decided to close two out of the three treatment centres. Presently, we have 100 cases under treatment and 10 casualties in the last one week,” Yusuf said.

Unofficial sources revealed that about 40 persons died of Diphtheria in less than one week at the state’s Infectious Diseases Hospital, fueling fears of another looming health burden in the densely populated city.

Kano became the epicentre of the dangerous disease since the outbreak hit the country again in November 2022, accounting for about 80 per cent of the prevalence and mortality.