Health
Diphtheria: Katsina hospital overwhelmed as officials silent on case, death figures
The Federal Teaching Hospital (FTH) Katsina says its children’s ward is overwhelmed by an influx of suspected and confirmed diphtheria cases, while the number of infections and deaths from the disease in Katsina State remains unclear.
The hospital said on Saturday that patients were being referred from health facilities across the state, resulting in severe overcrowding and pressure on available bed spaces.
It did not disclose the number of children currently on admission, the number of laboratory-confirmed cases or deaths recorded so far.
PREMIUM TIMES reported on Saturday that the federal government had activated an emergency multi-agency task force involving the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), the affected state governments and development partners.
The task force was directed to strengthen outbreak investigation and surveillance, intensify immunisation and expand access to treatment.
The federal government said the NPHCDA had deployed 500,000 vaccine doses to Katsina and Kano states for intensified immunisation in affected and at-risk communities.
It did not specify how many of the doses were allocated to Katsina.
Pressure on referral hospital
FTH Katsina, which serves as a major referral facility for Katsina and some neighbouring states, said the increasing number of patients had placed its paediatric services under considerable pressure.
“The hospital is making every possible arrangement to accommodate and manage the increasing number of patients, even in the absence of sufficient bed spaces,” the hospital said in its statement.
It said healthcare workers were continuing to attend to critically ill children despite the pressure on the ward.
The hospital also called for stronger collaboration among health institutions, government agencies and other stakeholders involved in the response.
The federal government has since directed the emergency task force to mobilise additional support to FTH Katsina, including diphtheria antitoxin, intravenous antibiotics, additional clinical personnel and personal protective equipment.
It also directed the establishment of treatment annexes across Katsina’s three senatorial zones, covering Katsina, Daura and Funtua, to reduce pressure on the referral hospital and bring treatment closer to affected communities.
Details of the locations, bed capacities and operational status of the proposed treatment centres have not yet been made public.
Questions over scale of outbreak
Despite the pressure reported at FTH Katsina and the activation of the federal emergency response, there is no official statements on the current Katsina-specific breakdown of suspected cases, confirmed infections, deaths or the LGAs most affected.
The vaccination status of the affected children is also yet to be disclosed.
These figures could help establish the extent to which gaps in routine immunisation are contributing to the outbreak.
The Federal Ministry of Health said part of the emergency intervention would focus on closing “population immunity gaps” by vaccinating unvaccinated children.
Questions also remain about when the current increase in cases was first detected, what measures were taken before referrals began to overwhelm FTH Katsina, and what diphtheria treatment capacity existed at secondary health facilities across the state before the latest federal intervention.
PREMIUM TIMES understands that the Katsina State Primary Healthcare Development Agency is expected to brief journalists on the outbreak and the government’s response on Sunday.
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A total of 10,494 Nigerians are listed among staff in the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS), according to data shared by NHS Million, a UK campaign organisation focused on NHS staff.
Nigeria ranked sixth overall on the list, behind the UK/British, India, the Philippines, Ireland and Poland, making Nigeria the largest African nationality represented in the breakdown.
The data shared by NHS Million showed that more than 1.1 million NHS workers identified as British or UK nationals, while Indians accounted for 32,117 staff and Filipinos 25,423.
It also showed that Zimbabwe had the second-highest number of African nationals working in the NHS, with 4,780, followed by Ghana with 3,395, Egypt with 2,895 and South Africa with 1,829.
The figures highlight the significant contribution of Nigerian professionals to the UK health system, but also come amid persistent concerns over the shortage of health workers in the country.
Nigeria loses thousands of health workers
The 2025 State of Health of the Nation Report, released by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, showed that over 20,000 Nigerian health workers relocated abroad within one year.
The figure included 3,919 doctors, 7,487 nurses and midwives, 6,861 medical laboratory professionals, 702 pharmacists, 658 physiotherapists and 274 dentists, among other health professionals. The report also showed that Nigeria has 95,456 registered doctors, but only 60,551 currently hold active practising licences.
The workforce shortage is further worsened by the uneven distribution of health professionals across the country, with several northern states recording particularly low doctor densities.
UK remains major destination
The United Kingdom is one of the major destinations for Nigerian health professionals.
Data from the UK’s General Medical Council showed that 4,691 Nigerian-trained doctors joined the UK medical register between May 2023 and April 2026, according to a Punch report.
The data also showed that 15,896 Nigerian-trained doctors were licensed to practise in the UK.
READ ALSO: PT Health Watch: How laboratory tests can help detect colorectal cancer early – Expert
The 2025 State of Health of the Nation Report identified external migration as one of the factors affecting the availability of health professionals in Nigeria.
Migration policy yet to be fully implemented
The federal government has introduced several measures aimed at increasing the health workforce and addressing migration.
Nigeria also approved a National Policy on Health Workforce Migration in August 2024, aimed at managing health worker migration, improving retention and strengthening workforce planning.
However, the 2025 State of Health of the Nation Report said that although the implementation plan had been finalised, full implementation had not commenced.
The report said an additional 23,000 frontline health workers were trained in 2025, bringing the number trained between 2024 and 2025 to 78,146, or about 65 per cent of the national target of 120,000.
The policy is intended to improve working conditions, support career progression and establish a more coordinated approach to health worker migration and retention.
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Colorectal cancer, which affects the colon and rectum, is one of the most common cancers globally, yet it can remain unnoticed for a long time because some people have no symptoms in the early stages.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 1.9 million new cases of colorectal cancer and more than 900,000 deaths occurred globally in 2022.
The agency said symptoms, when they occur, may include blood in the stool, persistent changes in bowel habits, abdominal pain, unexplained weight loss and fatigue.
Because some people may not notice any warning signs, screening can provide an opportunity to identify possible abnormalities before the disease becomes advanced.
What happens before a diagnosis is confirmed?
Laboratory investigations are an important part of that process, as medical laboratory scientists examine samples that can provide clues about what is happening in a patient’s body.
Speaking with PT HEALTH WATCH, Adedoye David, a medical laboratory scientist, said laboratory testing contributes to the investigation of colorectal cancer through the examination of biological samples, including stool, blood and tissue.
One of the investigations is the Faecal Occult Blood Test (FOBT), which detects blood in stool that may not be visible to the naked eye.
Another is the Faecal Immunochemical Test (FIT), which uses antibodies to detect human haemoglobin in stool.
These tests can help identify people who may require further assessment, but Mr David stressed that detecting blood in stool is not the same as diagnosing cancer.
“Stool-based tests are very important for detecting hidden blood in stool. It could be reliable if the test investigation is carried out using the right and standard operating procedures.
“But as much as it can be reliable in detecting hidden blood, it might not be totally reliable in the diagnosis of colorectal cancer,”he said.
Where further investigation is necessary, Mr David said a patient may be referred for procedures such as colonoscopy, during which abnormal areas can be identified and tissue samples taken for laboratory examination.
A biopsy can then help determine whether the abnormal tissue is cancerous.
Why symptoms should not be ignored
The distinction between screening and diagnosis is important because colorectal cancer does not always announce itself with obvious symptoms.
A person who feels healthy may therefore not consider testing necessary, while another may receive a negative stool test and conclude that further medical attention is unnecessary.
Mr David said both assumptions could be misleading.
He urged people to seek medical advice when they experience persistent symptoms rather than waiting for them to become severe.
He also advised people with a family history of colorectal cancer or long-term inflammatory bowel disease to discuss their risk with healthcare professionals and determine whether they require earlier or more frequent screening.
WHO identifies family history of colorectal cancer and certain inflammatory bowel diseases among factors that can increase a person’s risk of developing the disease.
Although colorectal cancer is more common with increasing age, it is not exclusively a disease of older people. WHO has also reported a rising incidence among younger adults in several countries.
Screening is only useful when people can complete it
The challenge, however, is not simply persuading people to undergo screening. The health system must also be able to support them when a test produces an abnormal result.
Evidence from Nigeria illustrates this point.
A Nigerian community-based study involving more than 2,000 adults found that FIT screening was feasible. However, the researchers also highlighted challenges with follow-up colonoscopy after positive results.
This means that detecting a possible problem is only one part of the process. Patients must be able to access the additional investigations required to establish what the abnormal result means and, where necessary, begin treatment.
Mr David identified limited facilities capable of carrying out some key investigations and the cost of available services as major challenges facing colorectal cancer testing in Nigeria.
For people who may already be hesitant about testing, the cost and availability of diagnostic services can make early detection even more difficult.
READ ALSO: Hot tea, coffee linked to higher risk of oesophageal cancer — Study
Mr David also urged Nigerians to overcome the embarrassment that may come with providing stool samples for laboratory examination.
“There is nothing to be ashamed of producing a stool sample. It is just like any other medical sample and it is needed for us to carry out informed diagnosis,” he said.
Ultimately, a stool test is not a verdict on whether a person has cancer. Rather, it can be one step in a process that helps health professionals decide who may need further investigation.
For Mr David, improving colorectal cancer outcomes therefore requires both public awareness and access to appropriate laboratory and diagnostic services, so that people can seek help early and abnormal findings can be properly investigated.
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