The Kano State Government has issued an urgent appeal to the Federal Government for additional diphtheria vaccines to facilitate a state-wide mass immunisation campaign, following reports of a deadly outbreak that has allegedly claimed the lives of over 50 children.
The request was disclosed during a press conference on Tuesday night by the Director-General of the Kano State Centre for Disease Control (KNCDC), Prof. Muhammad Abbas.
The briefing followed a motion of urgent public importance raised on Monday by Ibrahim Muhammad, representing Rano Constituency, in the Kano State House of Assembly, calling on Governor Abba Yusuf to intervene immediately in Rano and surrounding local government areas.
Confirming official efforts to secure medical supplies, Prof. Abbas stated: “Kano State has even written to the Federal Government to get more and more vaccines so that we vaccinate our people.”
While pointing out a major obstacle in containing the disease, Prof. Abbas expressed deep concern over late hospital presentations and unreported cases, despite the deployment of 126 disease surveillance and notification officers across all 44 local government areas.
He stressed that a deployment of health experts is currently in Rano conducting verbal autopsies to verify the death toll and determine exact causes of mortality: “So, it is really disheartening that we will have cases that are up to 50 that have not been reported to the hospital. We want to appeal to people: come to the clinics, come to the hospital. If the hospitals feel these cases are greater than what they can handle, they will refer them to us and we will do the needful.”
According to KNCDC data, Kano State has recorded more than 38,000 suspected diphtheria cases since 2022, with over 31,000 confirmed. The agency noted that more than 55 per cent of infected individuals were “zero-dose” children who had never received any vaccination, while another 10 to 15 per cent were only partially immunised, leaving only a minor fraction fully protected.
Urging parents and guardians to seek immediate medical attention at the earliest sign of illness, Prof. Abbas warned that delays severely complicate treatment outcomes: “We are appealing to parents to please report early. Early presentation to healthcare facilities is what saves.
“And even if not medical conditions, all conditions, including social, if they are long and complicated, taking care of them is always difficult. So, Please go to the healthcare facility near you. If the cases are epidemic-prone cases, they will alert us.”