Posted on: Wed 12-03-2025

Lagos State Government, yesterday, began an emergency vaccination of students and members of staff of King’s College Annexe, Victoria Island, to curb the spread of the Diphtheria outbreak in the school and safeguard public health.

 

The swift intervention, led by the state’s Ministry of Health and the State Primary Healthcare Board, underscores the government’s commitment to preventing further infections.

 

Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi; alongside the Special Adviser to the Governor on Health, Dr Kemi Ogunyemi, and other top officials, visited the school to assess the situation and oversee the vaccination campaign.

 

The delegation, including the Permanent Secretary, Lagos Health District III, Dr Monsurat Adeleke, and Director, Epidemiology, Biosecurity, and Global Health, Dr Ismail Abdus-Salam, inspected the school’s kitchen, dining hall, dormitories, classrooms, sickbay, sanitary areas, and waste disposal units to identify potential risk factors and reinforce preventive measures to halt the disease’s spread.

 

Abayomi, while addressing the students, emphasised the importance of personal and environmental hygiene, urging them to adopt proper handwashing habits and report any symptoms of diphtheria promptly.

 

He reassured the parents that the government would actively manage the situation and discouraged them from withdrawing their children from school, as this could further complicate containment efforts.

 

The commissioner, who spoke on the potential side effects of the vaccine, reassured students and parents that while mild to moderate reactions can occur, they are rare and manageable, urging anyone experiencing adverse effects to report to the school’s healthcare facility where medical personnel are on standby to provide the necessary care.

 

The school’s Principal, Zachariah Magaji, alongside the PTA chairman and representatives from the school’s alumni, participated in the facility tour and vaccination exercise. Their presence underscored a collective commitment to ensuring the safety and well-being of the students.

 

Meanwhile, the Lagos State Government has pledged continued collaboration with the federal and state health agencies to monitor the situation and deploy additional resources where necessary.

 

Abayomi assured the public that there was no need to panic, stating that an Emergency Operations Committee (EOC) had been put in place to manage the situation.

 

According to him, the index case was a 12-year-old boy who initially presented symptoms, such as a sore throat and fever, at the school’s health facility .

 

The boy was subsequently referred to the pediatric emergency ward of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) where he was administered appropriate antibiotics.

 

Abayomi revealed that 14 of the contacts had developed symptoms consistent with diphtheria and were transported to the Children’s Emergency Unit at LUTH for screening, adding that 12 were found to have early signs of diphtheria and were admitted for treatment, including antibiotics and diphtheria antitoxin serum.

 

He said that a preliminary inspection of the annexe by health officials had identified areas where infection prevention and control measures are needed for improvement, saying that the necessary corrective measures will commence immediately.

 

Abayomi said the state currently has nearly 500,000 doses of diphtheria vaccines in stock, which will be strategically deployed to high-risk locations as part of the emergency response.

 

By Gbenga Salau and Ijeoma Nwanosike

Guardian News

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