How I lost five children to Diphtheria within eight days – Kano father narrates ordeal

A Kano resident, Ibrahim Yusuf, has recounted the painful loss of five of his children within eight days to suspected diphtheria, as concerns grow over the spread of the disease in the state.

Yusuf, who lives in the Danbare area of Kano metropolis, said the ordeal began last week when his children developed fever.

He said he initially took them to the Kabuga Primary Healthcare Centre but later transferred them to the Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH) after their conditions deteriorated. The hospital is designated by the state government to manage diphtheria cases.

According to Yusuf, two of his children died on the same Monday, about 40 minutes apart.

“They told us it was diphtheria. They admitted them, but two of them died the same day,” he said.

He explained that three other children subsequently developed similar symptoms and were also admitted to the hospital.

“On Tuesday night, another child died, while on Wednesday, two more also died, bringing the total deaths in my house to five within eight days,” he said.

Recounting the sequence of events, Yusuf said one child died on Tuesday night and was buried the following morning. Another died at about 10am on Wednesday and was buried at noon, while the third died at about 5pm that day and was buried at 8am the following morning.

The grieving father identified the deceased children as Sadiq, 13; Aisha, seven; Zainab, seven; Umar, six; and Aliyu, one year and six months old.

“They all died in quick succession,” he said.

Yusuf, who has 11 children, said the deaths had devastated his family.

He also claimed to have witnessed several bodies being taken away from the hospital, adding that other families in his neighbourhood had reportedly lost children.

“Honestly, I saw many bodies being taken away. I cannot count them, but people are dying in the hospital almost every day. In our neighbourhood too, another man lost his child. There are many cases,” he said.

He appealed to the authorities to intensify efforts to contain the outbreak and prevent further deaths.

“We are calling on the government to stop this outbreak before it spreads further. Every day people are dying. Our plea is for them to act quickly,” he said.

Daily Trust observed health officials administering diphtheria vaccines to children in the area, with more than 400 children reportedly vaccinated.

Health officials in Kano have repeatedly urged residents to ensure their children are immunised and to seek medical attention promptly if symptoms of the disease develop.

Five Deaths Confirmed

Efforts to obtain an official response from the Kano State Centre for Disease Control (KNCDC) were unsuccessful.

A reporter who visited the agency’s headquarters was informed that its Director-General, Professor Muhammad Adamu Abbas, was unavailable.

Several calls to his telephone were neither answered nor returned, while text messages sent to him had not received a response as of press time.

However, an agency staff member, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media, confirmed the five deaths and said fatalities recorded at the health facility were increasing.

In August, the lawmaker representing Rano Constituency in the Kano State House of Assembly, Ibrahim Muhammad, raised concerns over the outbreak, claiming that at least 50 children had died in his constituency.

Some residents, however, said the actual number could be higher because deaths occurring at home were not always reported to health authorities.

The KNCDC disputed the lawmaker’s figure, saying only two deaths had been officially confirmed in the local government at the time.

The agency also reported that Kano had recorded more than 38,000 suspected diphtheria cases since the outbreak began in 2022, with over 31,000 confirmed cases.

Kano Seeks More Vaccine Doses

The Kano State Government had previously requested nine million doses of diphtheria vaccine from the Federal Government to strengthen efforts to contain the outbreak.

The request followed the delivery of 500,000 doses alongside a rapid-response task force, a quantity state officials said was insufficient for the scale of the challenge.

Figures cited in the state’s earlier appeal indicated that Kano had recorded more than 39,000 suspected cases, over 31,000 confirmed infections and more than 1,800 deaths since 2022.

Health experts have also raised concerns about low immunisation coverage. According to figures cited in reports on the outbreak, more than 55 per cent of cases involved children who had never received a vaccine, while another 10 to 15 per cent involved partially immunised children.

Previous vaccination campaigns conducted by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and the state Ministry of Health reportedly administered 835,000 doses in two rounds, reaching nearly half a million children.

Despite those efforts, significant gaps in immunity remain a concern.

The KNCDC has also warned about harmful traditional practices involving attempts to remove the membrane that can form in the throat of a child with diphtheria. Such interventions, including cutting the affected area, can cause bleeding and potentially worsen the patient’s condition.

How Diphtheria Can Be Fatal

Dr Aminu Mato Jitandutse of the Community Medicine Department at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital described diphtheria as a serious, vaccine-preventable bacterial infection caused mainly by toxin-producing strains of Corynebacterium diphtheriae.

He said the infection commonly affects the nose and throat and spreads primarily through respiratory droplets released when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Transmission can also occur through close contact with infected individuals or contaminated materials.

“The toxin produced by the bacteria can damage the heart, nerves and other organs, making early recognition, treatment and prevention very important,” he said.

Symptoms include sore throat, painful swallowing, fever, weakness, swollen neck glands and, in severe cases, marked swelling of the neck, sometimes described as a “bull neck”.

Other warning signs include a thick greyish or whitish membrane over the tonsils or throat, hoarseness, coughing, difficulty breathing and nasal discharge.

In severe cases, diphtheria can cause inflammation of the heart, abnormal heart rhythms, nerve damage, paralysis, kidney problems, airway obstruction and death.

Jitandutse emphasised the importance of routine childhood vaccination and booster doses, as well as the early identification and treatment of suspected infections.

He said suspected or confirmed cases should be managed promptly, with confirmed patients isolated to reduce transmission. Close contacts should also be assessed quickly and may require preventive antibiotics and vaccination.

The medical expert further advised regular handwashing, covering the mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing, avoiding the sharing of personal items and cleaning frequently touched surfaces.

The unfolding situation has renewed calls for stronger vaccination campaigns, early medical intervention and improved public awareness to prevent further loss of life.

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