…34 contacts placed on observation

…Govt officials, WHO inspect school facilities

…Parents ask children, wards to shun school

By Adesina Wahab & Chioma Obinna

LAGOS — THE Lagos State government, yesterday, commenced an emergency vaccination exercise for diphtheria for students and staff of the King’s College Annex, Victoria Island, to prevent the spread of the highly contagious disease.

Following the outbreak of the disease which claimed the life of a 12-year-old student, some parents have asked their children and wards to stay at home.

This came as top state government officials and the World Health Organisation, WHO, visited and inspected the school to assess the situation and oversee the vaccination campaign.

Top government officials, who visited the school, include the Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, alongside the Special Adviser to the Governor on Health, Dr Kemi Ogunyemi; the Permanent Secretary, Lagos Health District III, Dr Monsurat Adeleke; and the Director, Epidemiology, Biosecurity, and Global Health, Dr Ismail Abdus-Salam.

The team inspected key facilities such as the school’s kitchen, dining hall, dormitories, classrooms, sickbay, sanitary areas, and waste disposal units.

The inspection was aimed at identifying potential risk factors and reinforcing preventive measures to halt the disease’s spread.

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

Abayomi said: “We have been sent here by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the entire Executive Council. We discussed this in detail at the Cabinet meeting. We were very concerned about what is going on in this King’s College Annex, an outbreak of diphtheria fever, which has been going on now for a little over 10 days, and we have had a number of children falling sick.

“Unfortunately, the very first child that developed the fever passed away at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital from the severe complications of diphtheria. That happens when we don’t intervene fast enough when the child is not diagnosed and the disease progresses and starts to produce complications.

“Subsequently, once we identified that this was diphtheria, we were able to screen other children, and we took the children to various hospitals where they have been screened, assessed, and given appropriate antibiotics, the appropriate antiserum.

“12 of those 14 received antibiotics and the antiserum, and they are all being observed, both in the hospital and some of them back here, and all of them are doing well.

“To further interrupt the transmission of the bacteria from child to child, we’ve come to inspect the school to look at the sanitary conditions, to look at the ablution facilities, to look at the dormitories, to look at the classrooms, because this is a disease that spreads airborne by droplet, so it’s more likely to spread when living environments are crowded.”

As the vaccination exercise continues, Abayomi urged parents to give their consent for their children to receive the vaccine.

“Because they (students) are minors, we cannot vaccinate them without parental consent. So all the children have a consent form signed by their parents, they are going to receive the vaccine today. The vaccine will start to work in their body to build up their immune system that already exists from their childhood immunisation and make it even more robust so that if they come into contact with a child that has the fever and is exporting the bacteria in their droplets, that they are not likely to catch the diphtheria fever, “ he stated.

Also , the Principal, Mr Zachariah Magaji, alongside the PTA Chairman and representatives from the school’s alumni, participated in the vaccination exercise.

34 contacts placed on observation

Earlier, the state government confirmed the death of the index case even as it disclosed that 34 closed contacts of the deceased student have been placed on observation.

Parents ask children, wards to shun school

Meanwhile, following the outbreak of Diphtheria in the school that claimed the life of a 12-year-old student, some parents have asked their children and wards to stay at home for now.

Some parents are also calling for a meeting of the Parent Teacher Association, PTA, of the school and have been bombarding the PTA’s social media platforms for a meeting to assess the situation.

One of the concerned parents, who gave her name simply as Nkechi, said the assurances being given by the leadership of the PTA might not be enough, as parents want an on-the-spot assessment of the situation done.

Nkechi, a former member of the executive of the PTA said: “Last December, a student also died and many people suspected that it was due to the same disease. The rot started long ago and the current management inherited it. But that is not to say it must continue. The annexe on Victoria Island is for the Junior Secondary School classes, while the Senior Secondary School is on Lagos Island.

“Without being a medical personnel, one can say the incident was due to unsanitary conditions of the classrooms and hostels.

“They are overcrowded. We gathered that 34 students showed the symptoms of the disease with 14 being serious cases. We hope the situation will be brought under control as soon as possible.”