Nigeria: Kano Sets Up Committee to Contain Diphtheria Outbreak

What the report says

Kano State in northern Nigeria has formed a special committee to respond to a reported diphtheria outbreak in parts of the state, according to Daily Trust via AllAfrica. The move follows reports of cases and deaths linked to the disease in several local government areas, with particular concern raised about Rano Local Government Area.

The committee is meant to assess the scale of the outbreak, verify reported cases and deaths, and help prevent the illness from spreading to nearby areas. It is chaired by the director-general of the Kano State Centre for Disease Control, Prof. Muhammad Adamu Abbas, and includes senior health officials from the state health ministry, the primary healthcare board, hospitals management board and disease control units, along with representatives of several emirate councils.

According to the report, the panel has been tasked with improving surveillance, ensuring daily reporting from disease notification officers, and creating a central registry for suspected and confirmed cases. It will also look at immunisation gaps, support community awareness efforts, and help ensure medical supplies reach treatment centres on time. The state government urged residents and local leaders to cooperate with health authorities by reporting suspected cases quickly.

More broadly, diphtheria is a vaccine-preventable bacterial infection that can spread quickly in areas with low immunisation coverage, making surveillance, case management and vaccination response important public-health measures.