At least 50 children killed in diphtheria outbreak in northwest Nigeria

ABUJA -- At least 50 children have been killed and several others hospitalized in an outbreak of diphtheria in Nigeria's northwestern state of Kano, the state legislature said Tuesday, calling for swift emergency measures to assist affected communities.

The Kano State House of Assembly called on the government to invoke the state's Health Protection Law to contain the outbreak and directed its committee on health to engage relevant authorities on the public health issue affecting several local government areas.

Ibrahim Muhammad, a state lawmaker representing Rano, one of the affected local government areas, said during plenary on Tuesday that the outbreak was particularly severe in Ridin and Sabuwar Kaura communities, where most of the deaths were reported.

He said limited emergency measures had been taken so far, including the provision of medication and deployment of health workers, but more needed to be done to contain the disease.

Other lawmakers at the plenary said the outbreak had spread to other communities and towns across six local government areas, including Rano, Tudun Wada, Kibiya, Bunkure, Bebeji and Kiru.

Diphtheria is a disease caused by a bacterium that affects the upper respiratory tract, and sometimes the skin. It also produces a toxin that damages the heart and the nerves.

According to a 2025 report by the World Health Organization, at least 884 diphtheria-related deaths were reported in an outbreak that affected about 240 local government areas across 30 of Nigeria's 36 states.

The global health body had previously urged Nigeria to increase vaccination coverage to at least 80 percent to ensure community protection and prevent future outbreaks in the country.

In Nigeria more than 2 million children are under-immunized, including those with zero-doses, highlighting the high risk of further spread.