Diphtheria outbreak kills over 50 children in Kano

The Kano State House of Assembly has called for urgent government intervention following a diphtheria outbreak that has reportedly killed more than 50 children in Rano Local Government Area.

The call followed a motion of urgent public importance raised by the lawmaker representing Rano Constituency, Ibrahim Muhammad, during Monday’s plenary presided over by Speaker Ismail Falgore.

Presenting the motion, Muhammad said the outbreak was particularly severe in Ridin and Sabuwar Kaura communities, where more than 50 children had reportedly died.

He said although the state government had introduced emergency measures, including procuring medication and deploying health workers to the affected communities, additional intervention was needed to prevent further deaths.

Muhammad urged Governor Abba Yusuf and the Commissioner for Health to provide additional emergency support to the affected areas.

He expressed concern that the outbreak had resurfaced after a similar incident claimed several lives in the area last year.

“We want to inform the Governor and the Commissioner for Health to send further emergency aid to the region because the disease has spread heavily in that area,” he said.

Supporting the motion, the member representing Kiru Constituency, Usman Abubakar Tasiu, said the outbreak had spread to communities beyond Rano, including Kwarin Dangora, Dangora town and Yelwa in Kiru Local Government Area.

Tasiu disclosed that an APC youth leader in Kiru town reportedly lost two children to the disease within a single day.

He called for the establishment of an emergency committee to coordinate the response in the affected local government areas, including Rano, Tudun Wada, Kibiya, Bunkure, Bebeji and Kiru.

Another lawmaker, representing Dawakin Tofa Constituency, Saleh Ahmad, urged the state government to intensify vaccination and other preventive measures.

Ahmad warned that diphtheria is highly contagious and could spread rapidly to neighbouring communities if urgent measures were not taken.

The Majority Leader of the House, Lawan Husseini, urged the government to invoke the state’s Health Protection Law to contain the outbreak.

He said the law empowers the government to provide emergency relief and free healthcare while allowing authorities to isolate affected communities and restrict movement where necessary to control infectious diseases.

The House subsequently approved the motion and directed its Committee on Health to engage the Ministry of Health on implementing the relevant provisions of the law and providing emergency assistance to the affected communities.