81 Kaduna students hospitalised amid diarrhoea outbreak

The Kaduna State Ministry of Health on Friday confirmed that there had been a diarrhoea outbreak at Government Girls Senior and Junior Secondary School, Kawo, which affected 81 students, out of which 15 were hospitalised.

An inquiry carried out by the Kaduna State Rapid Response Team, headed by the state epidemiologist, Jeremiah Diako, showed that the students affected were between 16 and 17 years of age.

Mr Diako mentioned that the students were promptly taken to a secondary healthcare facility at the General Hospital, Kawo, for medical attention.

“All hospitalised students have since been discharged,” he said.

Following the outbreak, the State Ministry of Health advised the adoption of several preventive strategies to avoid future occurrences.

These recommendations included enhancing disease reporting systems, creating surveillance frameworks within schools, formalising procedures for case referrals, offering training on food safety and waste management, and boosting readiness for localised outbreaks.

The ministry stressed the pressing need to enforce these measures in order to safeguard the health of students and prevent similar situations in the future.