Diphtheria: 29 Katsina LGs affected, Kano confirms two deaths

Katsina and Kano states are intensifying efforts to contain diphtheria outbreaks, with the disease reported in 29 local government areas of Katsina State, while a recent investigation in Kano confirmed two diphtheria-related deaths in Rano Local Government Area.

In Katsina, the widening outbreak has prompted the state government to intensify emergency vaccination, surveillance and isolation measures, with Funtua recording the highest burden.

Briefing journalists in Katsina on Sunday, the Acting Executive Secretary of the Katsina State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr Shema’u Kabir, said Kankia, Bakori, Katsina, Mashi and Daura were also among the worst-affected areas.

She said the government had launched a reactive vaccination campaign targeting 15 high-risk wards in Bakori, Charanchi, Funtua, Mashi and Kankia.

According to her, 67,670 eligible people had received Td vaccines, while 24,103 children had received pentavalent vaccines within the first three days of the campaign.

She added that the government had secured an additional 650,000 doses of diphtheria-containing vaccines for communities considered to be at high risk of infection.

Three additional isolation centres have also been established to complement the NCDC-supported facility at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Katsina, while drugs, medical consumables and infection-control supplies are being deployed to affected areas.

Kabir said the response was being hampered by suboptimal vaccination uptake, delayed hospital presentation and Katsina’s porous border with the Niger Republic.

She said the government was therefore combining vaccination with active case searches, contact tracing, chemoprophylaxis, enhanced surveillance and training of health workers.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Medical Association in Katsina State has raised concerns over pressure on the Federal Teaching Hospital, Katsina, where between 70 and 80 per cent of the isolation centre is occupied by diphtheria patients.

The state NMA chairman and consultant in infectious diseases and tropical medicine at the hospital, Dr Mohammed Abubakar, said the facility was admitting an average of 20 to 25 diphtheria patients at a time, with new admissions sometimes reaching 50 in a week.

He said more than 80 per cent of affected patients were children, mostly below 10 years, with those aged between three and seven constituting the largest group.

Abubakar said the hospital’s isolation centre, which also caters to other infectious diseases, had been under sustained pressure for about a month.

He attributed the rising cases to gaps in routine immunisation, delayed presentation and inadequate isolation facilities and critical medicines, particularly diphtheria antitoxin.

The physician warned that mortality could reach between 20 and 30 per cent among patients who do not receive timely treatment.

He also called for the establishment of at least three to five functional isolation centres across the state to reduce pressure on the Federal Teaching Hospital.

In Kano State, however, the state Centre for Disease Control and Prevention dismissed a report alleging that 50 people had died from diphtheria in Rurum Ward, Rano LGA.

The Director-General of the centre, Prof Muhammad Adamu Abbas, said a field investigation conducted on August 28 established that only four deaths had occurred in the communities investigated, with two linked to diphtheria and the other two associated with suspected severe malaria or typhoid fever.

The investigation was launched following a media and social media report received on August 25 alleging about 50 diphtheria-related deaths.

Abbas said the State Rapid Response Team, working with the Rano Local Government Area team, visited affected communities, reviewed health facility records, conducted active case searches and verbal autopsies, and engaged traditional, religious and community leaders.

The investigation identified several diphtheria-compatible cases, including seven in Tsohon Gari and one active case in Sabon Gari A.

A review of the Sokkotawa health facility register also showed 11 diphtheria cases between July 1 and August 28, while six cases were identified at Rano Emirate Hospital during the same period.

Abbas said the identification of an active case and a death within the same household in Sabon Gari A warranted immediate contact tracing and further epidemiological investigation.

He said some children investigated had no documented immunisation history, while one recovered child reportedly had a pseudomembrane removed by a traditional healer.

According to the DG, the findings pointed to possible ongoing transmission, inadequate routine immunisation, delayed presentation for medical care and household transmission.

He said the state would intensify active case searches, contact tracing, specimen collection, immunisation interventions and community surveillance.

Abbas also disclosed that more than 32,000 diphtheria cases had been confirmed in Kano since 2022, with more than 1,800 deaths recorded over the period.

He said more than 16,000 of the confirmed cases involved children who had never received any diphtheria vaccination, describing the situation as a major public health crisis.

On the current situation in Rano, he said surveillance data showed that 32 diphtheria cases had been recorded between January and August 26, 2026, with two deaths.

He added that 94 per cent of the affected patients had never received any form of vaccination, while 91 per cent presented late for treatment.

The Kano CDC boss urged parents, traditional rulers, religious leaders and community members to support vaccination and ensure that suspected cases were reported promptly and taken to health facilities.

Health authorities in both states have urged residents to seek early medical attention for symptoms including sore throat, fever, difficulty swallowing or breathing, neck swelling and the appearance of a thick greyish or whitish membrane in the throat, tonsils or nose.