By KEMI AKINTOKUN

The Lagos State Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Tuesday inspected the King?s College Annex, Lagos, during an emergency diphtheria vaccination exercise for students at the Annex in Victoria Island.

The inspection/visit, was led by Prof. Akin Abayomi, the Lagos State Commissioner of Health.

It was necessitated by a recent diphtheria outbreak in the school, and was part of government?s measure and urgent response to curb the spread of the disease.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the government?s moves came following NAN?s report making public the outbreak of diphtheria in the school.

Some of the places inspected included the dining hall, kitchen area, dormitories and toilets.

Abayomi, while addressing the students, said the government considered the issue as serious and efforts were already in place to curb the outbreak of the disease.

He added that more attention should be given to the sanitary condition, class rooms, dormitories and other locations in the school.

According to the commissioner, 14 of the students who have shown signs of the disease are responding to treatment in the hospital.

He said the vaccine being administered was a booster vaccine and a combination of diphtheria and tetanus.

The commissioner said teachers, house officers and the entire staff of the school would also be vaccinated.

He urged the management of the school to ensure proper spacing and ventilation for the students.

He urged parents not to panic, saying it was better for the students to remain in school in order to curb the spread of the disease.

Abayomi, however, appealed to parents who had yet to give their consent for their children/wards to get the vaccination, to do so, for them to be vaccinated.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), diphtheria is a contagious disease that is 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 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 the illness. (NAN)

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