From Garba Abdullahi Bagwai, in Kano
The Kano State Centre for Disease Control (KNCDC) has said its investigation has found no record of more than 50 deaths from diphtheria in Rano Local Government Area, contrary to a claim made by a member of the Kano State House of Assembly representing the area.
The Director-General of KNCDC, Professor Muhammad Abbas, disclosed this in an interview with journalists on Thursday.
He said the lawmaker’s allegation during a plenary session that more than 50 people had died from diphtheria in his constituency had attracted the attention of the Kano State Government, health institutions and donor agencies within and outside Nigeria.
Professor Abbas described the claim as unfortunate, saying it was unfair to circulate information capable of creating unnecessary tension and fear among residents.
According to him, the Centre’s comprehensive situation analysis of the reported diphtheria outbreak in Rano did not establish that more than 50 people had died from the disease.
“We are requesting the member to help us identify the families of those people he claimed died from the disease, with a view to enabling the government to provide them with the necessary support and assistance,” he said.
The Director-General explained that KNCDC record showed that between July 2023 and August 2025, Rano Local Government recorded 527 suspected diphtheria cases and 29 deaths.
He added that from January 2026 to August 13, the area recorded 32 cases, with two deaths reported.
Professor Abbas said it would be difficult for more than 50 people to die from diphtheria in Rano without the state disease control authorities being informed.
“It is impossible for over 50 people to die from diphtheria without the knowledge of the State Centre for Disease Control,” he said.
He explained that the Centre had established surveillance structures across the state, including Disease Surveillance and Notification Officers (DSNOs), whose responsibility is to report outbreaks and other public health emergencies.
“We have DSNOs who are mandated to update the Centre about any outbreak in each of the 44 local government areas in the state. They send their reports to me on a daily basis,” he explained.
He said the surveillance network also includes ward focal persons, community informants, volunteer community mobilisers, cluster consultants, local facilitators, district heads and ward heads.
On efforts to contain diphtheria, Professor Abbas said the Centre was intensifying vaccination exercises across the state as part of preventive measures, but noted that inadequate vaccine supplies remained a major challenge.
“Approximately, we need six million doses, but we received only 300,000 doses from the National Primary Health Care Development Agency,” he said.
He added that the state government was making efforts to procure additional doses of the vaccine.
“Currently, there is a move by the Kano State Governor, Engineer Abba Kabir Yusuf, to release a substantial amount of money to secure more diphtheria vaccines for the benefit of the people of the state,” he said.
Professor Abbas further disclosed that the state had established 13 decentralised diphtheria treatment centres in selected local government areas, including Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) and Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH), while a reserve isolation centre had also been established at Yar Gaya.
He urged residents to disregard rumours concerning an alleged massive diphtheria outbreak in Rano, stressing that cases had been recorded but not on the scale reported by the lawmaker.
“We really have cases, but not at the level stated by the Rano State Assembly member on the floor of the House,” he said.
Meanwhile, efforts by journalists and officials of the Centre to meet with the lawmaker, Ibrahim Muhammad, who reportedly offered to lead a verbal autopsy involving the families of the alleged victims, were unsuccessful.
The efforts were said to have been made to establish the identities of the alleged victims and determine the actual cause of their deaths.
However, Ibrahim Muhammad was reportedly absent from the Assembly premises during the attempts to reach him, following his allegation during the plenary session.
The KNCDC said it would continue to monitor the situation and provide accurate information on diphtheria cases in the state to prevent unnecessary panic among residents
