Bauchi Govt orders schools closure as diphtheria kills 5 students

From Ahmad Muhammad, Bauchi

Five students have died as a result of suspected diphtheria outbreak in Jama’are local government area of Bauchi State.
The Executive Chairman of Bauchi State Primary Health Care Development Agency,(BSPHCDA), Dr Rilwanu Mohammed, told journalists in Bauchi, on Wednesday.
Rilwanu said all schools in the affected local government area had been closed as a precautionary measure to curtail any possible spread of the disease.
He said any school in any part of the state where any case of diphtheria is confirmed would be closed down.
He said out of 28 samples taken from Jama’are, two were confirmed, saying the agency was determined to act fast to curtail a possible spread of the outbreak.
He said vaccination would be given to prevent the disease.
“We need to vaccinate children at six weeks and the good news is that the vaccination is free,” he said
Rilwanu described the deaths of the students as unfortunate saying laboratory tests would confirm if they died of as a result of Diphtheria.
Diphtheria is a serious infection but vaccine preventable disease caused by bacteria and the common symptoms are sore throat, difficulty breathing, swollen glands in neck, fever and chill among others.