A diarrhea outbreak has struck Government Girls Senior and Junior Secondary School in Kawo, Kaduna State, leaving 81 students ill and 15 hospitalised, the Kaduna State Ministry of Health confirmed on Friday.
The ministry said the outbreak was first reported earlier this week, prompting immediate intervention by the state’s Rapid Response Team led by the State Epidemiologist, Dr. Jeremiah Diako.
In a statement issued in Kaduna, Dr. Diako disclosed that the affected students, aged between 16 and 17, were promptly moved to the General Hospital in Kalwo for medical attention.
“All hospitalised students have been successfully treated and discharged,” he said.
The ministry linked the outbreak to possible lapses in food hygiene and waste management within the school premises and has since rolled out a series of preventive measures aimed at forestalling future health emergencies in schools across the state.
“These measures include strengthening disease surveillance and reporting systems in schools, standardising case referral protocols, training food handlers on safety practices, and enhancing waste management systems,” the ministry stated.
It also recommended that schools establish in-house health monitoring units to detect and respond to potential health threats early.
The Ministry of Health emphasized that urgent action is needed to safeguard student health, calling on school administrators, local education authorities, and parents to work collectively to ensure a safe learning environment.
The outbreak has raised renewed concerns about public health preparedness and hygiene standards in government-owned boarding schools in northern Nigeria.
PLATFORM TIMES gathered that although this particular outbreak has been contained, health officials are still monitoring the situation closely to prevent any resurgence.
Efforts to reach the school principal for comments were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.
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