By Gabriel Dike
The Lagos State Ministry of Health has started the vaccination of King’s College students to avert further death.
The Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, confirmed the death of a student of the King’s College, Victoria Island Annex, at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), while 34 others, who had contact with the deceased have been identified, with 14 showing signs of the symptoms.
Meanwhile, worried parents besieged King’s College, Victoria Island Annex, following the outbreak of Diphtheria, which claimed the life of a 12-year-old pupil.
Despite the ongoing mock examinations for the SS 111 students, some parents have demanded for the closure of the college to avert more casualties.
Abayomi noted that a preliminary inspection of King’s College Annex by health officials uncovered areas where infection prevention and control (IPC) measures need to be improved and that process would commence immediately.
According to him, the state government, in collaboration with federal health agencies, are set to launch a targeted vaccination campaign for consented students of the college, both at the annex on Victoria Island and the main campus in Igbosere, including of all healthcare providers, to strengthen immunity against the deadly infection.
The health commissioner assured parents and Lagosians that “the outbreak is under control and that there is no need to panic because measures will continue in earnest to protect our citizens from infectious disease outbreaks.”
Diphtheria is an infection of the throat caused by a bacteria that results in inflammation of the throat, fever, swollen neck glands and difficulty in breathing. In addition, a toxin produced by the bacteria can cause failure of multiple organs, such as the heart, lungs and nerves. Diphtheria is preventable by adhering to the full vaccination schedule, good hygiene, avoidance of crowded, poorly ventilated spaces and prompt treatment of infection with antibiotics and anti toxoid serum to neutralise the effect of the toxin on organs.
Some of the parents who stormed the college annex told Daily Sun that the state government and UNICEF officials had started vaccinating the junior students at the annex.
The concerned parents appealed to the state government and UNICEF to extend the vaccination to the senior students at the main college, who started their mock exam on Monday.
However, some worried parents equally called for the closure of the college to check the spread of the disease among the students.
Daily Sun gathered that some agitated parents are requesting for an emergency meeting of the Parents Teachers Association (PTA).
A parent with two kids in the college alleged that the school’s management and PTA officials were hoarding information about the health crisis.
“When I heard the news, I rushed to the main college and annex. I met several other parents at the Victoria Island annex.
“The attitude of the college management and the PTA is worrisome. Parents have not been briefed about the health crisis. The insinuations that the situation is under control is not encouraging to parents. Our PTA platform is full of questions from agitated parents with no proper explanation from the PTA officials,” she stated.
Some concerned parents alleged that the college does not provide adequate water for the students, despite the huge PTA levies.
“Aside from the erratic power supply in the college, our children complained of inadequate supply of water, with the toilets in a mess,” revealed a parent.
He said his son informed him that in December 2024, a student died at the Victoria Island annex.
A former PTA official of the college insisted that the situation was under control and kicked against the call by some parents to shut the college.
She confirmed that the state government and UNICEF officials were overseeing the vaccination of the junior students at the college annex, after which the main campus would be the next.