Parents of students in King’s College, Lagos, are worried over suspected outbreak of diphtheria in school leading to the hospitalisation of some students.

The parents who spoke in separate interviews on Sunday in Lagos blamed the outbreak on the school’s unsanitary condition.

A parent who spoke on condition of anonymity faulted the management of the school for its seemingly silence and not swinging into action promptly in the face of the outbreak.

The parent said, “If there are no cases, why are the students mandated to wear nose masks and some of them taken to Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) for treatment?

“We heard that officials of the World Health Organisation (WHO) were in the school yesterday (March 8), to sensitise the students to preventive measures against diphtheria disease. Why is the school secretive about the issue? Parents had complained several times about the poor environmental sanitation of the school and toilets, including food given to the students. Students even complain about some members of the food committee and what they do. A few weeks ago, some parents raised concerns that their children had fallen sick and were diagnosed with diphtheria at the hospital.

“Even, some PTA excos don’t like parents to openly complain about such. Last week, the school sent a message to parents to sign a consent form that would enable their children to receive diphtheria vaccines on the school premises.”

A copy of the consent form obtained showed that the routine immunisation was done by the school in collaboration with the Lagos State Primary Health Care Board through Eti-Osa Local Government.

Another parent lamented about the state of the college clinic, stressing the need for a medical doctor to be consulting there regularly to operate the place optimally.

Two other parents said that in December their sons were hospitalised and treated for diphtheria.

“It was by GOD’S grace that my son survived. I was called to pick him up. He complained of sore throat. His neck was swollen and he had high fever. When we got to the hospital, he was on admission for over a week. Infact, there was another student who was hospitalised for same ailment the same time, but he didn’t pull through,” one of the parents said.

She called for intensified preventive measures to be put in place in the school and other schools and students to be constantly sensitised to preventive measures.

She stated, “They are still children, most of them restless and full of play. They need constant supervision especially in their toilet, washing, eating and recreational habits.”

The parents urged the Federal Government to improve infrastructure, especially water, and WASH facilities, teaching quality, teachers/staff attitude, and educational standards in the college and other colleges across the country especially unity schools.

A relative whose nephew was among those taken to LUTH for treatment on Saturday, said “Let’s keep praying for the children. My sister is panicking and distraught especially since she heard a student died from the disease in December. I believe that all will be well. However, the Federal Government and schools management should look more into improving the standards of KCL and indeed all unity schools. The PTA should work to better the lot of schools and students and not cover up things that aren’t right. These schools are very good and should not be allowed to continously fall below standards all round.”.

Reacting to the development, Public Relations Officer, King’s College Parents Teachers Association (PRO, KCPTA), Ngozi Ogbonna, in a message to parents, called for calm, assuring that efforts were ongoing to control the situation.

Mrs Ogbonna in her message titled, “Issue of Diphtheria Disease in Annex Campus, King’s College,” said the college management and PTA EXCO were collaborating to address the situation.

“As part of their efforts, the management and PTA EXCO met and contacted the relevant government health agencies, who, in collaboration, advised that booster doses of vaccines should be administered to the students. However, some of the students who manifested symptoms have been isolated, taken to LUTH for diagnosis and results awaited.

“Other students who manifest symptoms subsequently would be taken to LUTH accordingly, and parents contacted for follow-up. Delegates of the World Health Organisation visited the Annex Campus this evening to play their own role in controlling the situation. On this note, we, therefore, implore parents to remain calm and prayerful as everything is under control. We shall overcome,” Mr Ogbonna said in the message

According to WHO, diphtheria is a contagious disease caused by toxin-producing bacteria. It can spread from person to person when an infected person coughs or sneezes.

The diphtheria toxin causes damage to the respiratory tract and can spread throughout the body. Common symptoms include fever, sore throat and swelling of the neck glands.

Diphtheria can affect anyone but it is most common in unvaccinated children.

The health agency said overcrowding in residential camps increases the risk of infection, emphasising that the risk of complications or death decreases considerably if appropriate treatment is provided early in the course of illness.

On prevention, WHO said diphtheria can be prevented by vaccines that are often given in combination with tetanus and pertussis and other diseases.

It recommends a total of six diphtheria-containing vaccine doses be given starting at six weeks of age through adolescence to provide long-term protection.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) said the country continued to grapple diphtheria outbreak.

NCDC said that 41,336 suspected cases of diphtheria were reported from 37 states between Epidemiological Week 19, 2022, and Epidemiological Week 4, 2025.

(NAN)