From Paul Orude, Bauchi
Five students in Bauchi State have died of a suspected outbreak of diphtheria in the Jamaare local government area of the state.
The Executive Chairman of Bauchi State Primary Health Care Agency, Dr Rilwanu Mohammed, disclosed this to journalists in Bauchi on Wednesday.
Mohammed said all schools in the affected local government area had been closed as a precautionary measure.
Mohammed said any school in the state where cases of diphtheria are confirmed would be closed down.
He said out of 28 samples taken, 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
Mohammed described the deaths of the students as unfortunate saying laboratory tests would confirm if they died 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 the neck, fever and chill, among others.
