A fresh diphtheria outbreak has been reported at First Lady’s College, Mariri, in Kumbotso Local Government Area of Kano State, with 12 cases confirmed among students.
The affected school is a boarding institution with more than 2,000 students.
The outbreak was detected after health authorities traced and tested suspected cases at the school, according to the Kano State Centre for Disease Control (KNCDC).
The KNCDC Director-General, Prof. Muhammad Adamu Abbas, said the agency received the report on Wednesday and immediately deployed a response team to investigate and contain the disease.
He said 313 suspected cases were tested, with 12 clinically confirmed.
“We conducted active case searches in the school and confirmed the cases,” Abbas said.
He added that medication had been administered to suspected contacts, while other students were sensitised on diphtheria prevention and the need to report symptoms promptly.
One of the affected students, who reportedly developed severe symptoms, has been admitted to the Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH), Kano, while other affected students are being treated within the school.
A Rapid Response Team was deployed to the school, with support from officials from Kumbotso, Tarauni and Nassarawa local government areas.
However, the state health authorities are facing a major challenge: inadequate vaccine supplies.
Abbas said the school requires a mass vaccination campaign because of its large student population, but the available vaccine stock is insufficient.
“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 development comes amid renewed concerns over diphtheria in Kano, where health authorities have continued to report cases across the state.
Abbas said disease surveillance officers operating across Kano’s 44 local government areas were continuing to report suspected cases as authorities intensified efforts to contain the spread.
The vaccine shortage is not new.
The KNCDC chief said the agency had previously requested nine million doses to support mass immunisation across Kano but received only 500,000 doses.
The latest outbreak therefore highlights the continuing challenge of protecting vulnerable populations in the state, particularly in densely populated schools where an infectious disease can spread rapidly.
Health authorities are now expected to intensify surveillance, case management, contact treatment and vaccination efforts at the affected school to prevent further transmission.
Kano has recorded a significant burden of diphtheria in recent years. Earlier data reported by the KNCDC showed the disease had affected all 44 local government areas of the state, underscoring the scale of the public health challenge.
