More than 50 children have reportedly died from a diphtheria outbreak in three communities in Rano Local Government Area of Kano State, prompting the state House of Assembly to demand urgent government intervention.
The affected communities are Rurum A, Rurum B and Sabuwar Kaura, all in Rurum Ward of the council area.
The alarm was raised on Monday by the member representing Rano Constituency, Ibrahim Malami, during a motion of urgent public importance presented before the Kano State House of Assembly.
Malami said the scale of deaths required immediate intervention to prevent further loss of lives, adding that the medical department of the local government had already commenced emergency measures.
He said his office had also supported the response through the provision of drugs to affected communities.
The situation, however, appeared to be spreading beyond Rano, as another lawmaker, Usman Abubakar Tasiu, representing Kiru Constituency, disclosed that fresh infections had been recorded in Kwana Dangora, Dangora and Yelwa communities.
Tasiu also recounted the death of two siblings from the same family within a single day, describing the development as a disturbing indication of the severity of the outbreak.
Concerned by the reported spread, the lawmakers called for the establishment of a coordinated emergency response committee to strengthen surveillance, treatment, vaccination and public awareness.
They proposed that the response should cover Rano, Kiru, Tudun Wada, Kibiya, Bunkure and Bebeji local government areas.
Contributing to the debate, the lawmaker representing Dawakin Tofa Constituency, Saleh Ahmad, warned that diphtheria could spread rapidly in communities with inadequate immunisation coverage.
He called for an aggressive vaccination campaign targeting vulnerable communities.
The Majority Leader of the House, Lawan Husseini, urged the state government to activate the Kano State Health Protection Law to deal with the outbreak.
According to him, the law provides for free emergency healthcare and other extraordinary measures when the state faces infectious disease outbreaks.
The lawmakers’ intervention comes amid wider concerns over the resurgence and spread of diphtheria in parts of northern Nigeria.
Diphtheria is a vaccine-preventable bacterial infection that can cause severe illness and death, particularly among children who are not adequately immunised.
The reported deaths in Rano therefore raise fresh concerns about immunisation gaps, early detection, access to treatment and the capacity of health authorities to contain outbreaks in vulnerable communities.
The Kano State Government is expected to urgently clarify the number of confirmed cases and deaths, intensify contact tracing and vaccination, and deploy medical teams to the affected communities to prevent further spread.
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