Suspected diphtheria cases reported across 29 Katsina LGAs as Kano confirms two Rano deaths
Katsina health authorities say suspected diphtheria cases have been reported across 29 local government areas, while Kano officials have confirmed two diphtheria-related deaths in Rano after investigating claims that dozens of people had died from the disease.
The developments have intensified vaccination, surveillance and treatment efforts in both states, as the Federal Government deploys an emergency task force to strengthen outbreak containment and close immunisation gaps.
In Katsina, the state government said the suspected cases had been reported across 29 LGAs as of August 28, with Funtua recording the highest burden. Kankia, Bakori, Katsina, Mashi and Daura were also listed among areas carrying a significant caseload.
The Acting Executive Secretary of the Katsina State Primary Health Care Agency, Dr Shaima’u Kabir Abba, said a reactive vaccination campaign began on August 25 in 15 high-risk wards across Bakori, Charanchi, Funtua, Mashi and Kankia.
According to the Katsina State Government, 67,670 people had been vaccinated under the response by August 30. The state also said it was establishing three additional isolation centres and deploying medicines, vaccines and infection-prevention materials to high-risk health facilities.
Separate reporting said 24,103 children received pentavalent vaccines during the first three days of the campaign, while health officials identified low routine immunisation uptake and delayed presentation for treatment among the pressures complicating the response.
Kano investigates disputed death toll
In Kano, health authorities have rejected reports alleging that about 50 people died from diphtheria in communities in Rano Local Government Area.
The Director-General of the Kano State Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Prof Muhammad Adamu Abbas, said a field investigation conducted on August 28 established four deaths in the communities examined. According to the agency, two were linked to diphtheria, while the other two were associated with suspected severe malaria or typhoid fever.
The investigation followed reports received on August 25 alleging roughly 50 diphtheria-related deaths.
Kano officials said the response team reviewed health-facility records, carried out active case searches and verbal autopsies, and engaged community leaders. The exercise identified several diphtheria-compatible cases and prompted further contact tracing and epidemiological investigation.
State surveillance data cited by the Kano disease-control agency showed 32 diphtheria cases in Rano between January and August 26, 2026, with two deaths. The agency also said 94 per cent of affected patients had never received any vaccination and 91 per cent presented late for treatment.
Those figures sharpen the wider public-health concern: vaccine gaps and delayed access to treatment are leaving children exposed to a disease that health authorities say can be prevented through immunisation and treated more effectively when patients arrive early.
The Kano agency said more than 32,000 confirmed diphtheria cases had been recorded across the state since 2022, with more than 1,800 deaths over that longer period. It also said more than 16,000 of those confirmed cases involved children who had never received a diphtheria vaccine.
Those historical statewide figures are separate from the current Rano investigation.
Federal task force activated
The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare said on August 28 that it had activated a multi-agency emergency task force involving the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, affected state governments and health partners.
The task force was directed to strengthen outbreak investigation and surveillance, intensify vaccination of unvaccinated children and expand access to treatment.
The ministry also said 500,000 vaccine doses had been deployed to Katsina and Kano.
For families in affected communities, the immediate pressure is not only the scale of reported cases but whether vulnerable children are reached before infection turns severe.
Katsina authorities have urged residents to seek medical attention for symptoms including high fever, severe sore throat, difficulty swallowing or breathing, neck swelling, or a thick greyish or whitish membrane in the throat, tonsils or nose. They also warned against treating suspected diphtheria at home.
The accountability test now moves beyond emergency announcements. Katsina and Kano must demonstrate whether vaccines reach communities with the largest immunity gaps, whether treatment and isolation capacity keeps pace with demand, and whether families can get care before preventable infection results in further deaths.
