Four King’s College students hospitalised in LUTH after one dies of Diphtheria
A suspected outbreak of diphtheria at King’s College, Lagos, has left one student dead and four others hospitalised at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba.
PUNCH Healthwise gathered that the diphtheria outbreak in the school has led to concerns among parents and the call for improved hygiene and healthcare measures at the schools by health experts.
Diphtheria is a bacterial infection that affects the respiratory system and spreads through coughing, sneezing, or direct contact with an infected person. If untreated, it can lead to severe complications or death.
Speaking exclusively with our correspondent on Monday, the Chief Medical Director of LUTH, Prof Wasiu Adeyemo, said the four students currently undergoing treatment in the hospital were given antibiotics and antitoxin when rushed into the facility.
He assured that the students were now in stable condition but were undergoing further treatment.
“We have four students admitted in LUTH. They have not been discharged, all the four of them are still in the hospital, they are stable, they have given them antibiotics and antitoxin supplied by Lagos State government,” he said.
PUNCH earlier reported that parents of students at the school expressed worries over the outbreak, blaming the school’s poor sanitary conditions and alleged secrecy surrounding the issue.
Some parents reported that their children had fallen sick and were diagnosed with diphtheria, with one parent recalling that her son was hospitalised for over a week and another student died from the disease in December.
The school’s management has been accused of not responding promptly to the outbreak, with some parents claiming that they were not informed about the situation until recently.
Meanwhile, the Public Relations Officer of King’s College Parents Teachers Association, Ngozi Ogbonna, in a message to parents, called for calm, assuring that efforts were ongoing to control the situation.
Ogbonna in her message titled, “Issue of Diphtheria Disease in Annex Campus, King’s College”, said the college management and PTA EXCO are 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 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,” Ogbonna said in her message.
The World Health Organisation described diphtheria as a contagious disease caused by toxin-producing bacteria, which can spread through respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
WHO stated that vaccines can prevent the disease, and early treatment can reduce the risk of complications or death ².
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has reported 41,336 suspected cases of diphtheria in 37 states between Epidemiological Week 19, 2022, and Epidemiological Week 4, 2025.
