By: Mukhtar Yahaya Shehu
The Kano State Centre for Disease Control (KNCDC) has clarified reports of the death of more than 50 children in Rano Local Government Area, saying its surveillance records do not currently support the reported figure.
The Director-General of the KNCDC, Professor Muhammad Adamu Abbas, made the clarification while responding to concerns raised at the Kano State House of Assembly over reported deaths of children in Rano.
Professor Abbas said the KNCDC’s surveillance system recorded 32 diphtheria cases in Rano this year, with 25 of the cases reported in August, while seven were recorded earlier in the year.
He explained that six of the seven cases occurred in July, while one was recorded in May, adding that only seven of the 32 patients had been referred to the Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH) in Kano for treatment.
According to him, an active case search conducted in Rano on August 19 uncovered additional suspected cases, including two deaths, while the KNCDC team was still in the area investigating the wider report.
The Director-General said the agency could not immediately confirm that all the reported deaths were caused by diphtheria, stressing that some deaths could have resulted from other illnesses.
He said the KNCDC had commenced investigations, including verbal autopsies, in which health officials interview relatives of deceased persons to establish the circumstances and possible causes of death.
Professor Abbas attributed some of the challenges to late presentation of patients and cases being managed at home without medical attention.
He appealed to parents and residents to seek medical care immediately when children develop symptoms, warning that delaying treatment could make cases more difficult to manage.
“People stay at home. They don’t come to facilities. Even those who come to facilities, they come late,” he said.
The KNCDC boss also disclosed that vaccination remains a major concern, noting that the state has requested additional vaccines from the Federal Government to strengthen its response to diphtheria.
He said Kano had recorded more than 38,000 suspected diphtheria cases since 2022, with over 31,000 confirmed cases, adding that more than 55 per cent of the confirmed cases involved zero-dose children who had received no vaccination.
He further revealed that more than 27 local government areas in the state had recorded diphtheria cases, although the situation was largely under control due to the state’s surveillance and response mechanisms.
Professor Abbas said the state government had provided drugs and other medical consumables to support treatment, while reactive vaccination campaigns were being conducted in communities and schools whenever cases were detected.
He also disclosed that Kano State was monitoring cholera, saying 227 suspected cases had been identified, with laboratory confirmation establishing six current cholera cases in the state.
The KNCDC urged residents to promptly report suspected cases to the nearest healthcare facility, stressing that early detection and treatment remain critical to preventing deaths and further transmission.
Professor Abbas commended the Kano State House of Assembly, traditional institutions and community-based surveillance networks for their cooperation in disease detection and response.
He specifically called for continued collaboration between communities and health authorities to ensure that suspected cases are reported early and investigated promptly.
The KNCDC said its investigation into the reported deaths in Rano is ongoing, with health officials currently on the ground gathering further information to determine the actual number of cases and causes of death.