The Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has warned that a fast-spreading diphtheria outbreak has led to hospitalisation of over 2,800 patients within months across Bauchi, Kano, and Borno states. It described the situation as a “rapidly escalating health emergency,” exposing Nigeria’s fragile vaccination and surveillance systems.
Figures MSF shared with WikkiTimes show that 295 patients were admitted in Bauchi, over 2,300 in Kano, and 902 in isolation wards in Borno, in what the organisation says is one of the deadliest resurgences of the disease since 2023. Communities in the three states have also reported unverified deaths occurring even before patients reach medical facilities.
Diphtheria, a highly contagious bacterial infection attacking the respiratory tract or skin, becomes deadly without early diagnosis and prompt access to antitoxin.
“Without treatment, it can kill half of the people infected,” said Dr. Halarou Assoumana, MSF’s Medical Coordinator. “Even with access to care, the disease is still fatal in about five percent of cases.”
At the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH) in Bauchi, MSF-supported services recorded 295 admissions between August 21 and November 9, 2025—numbers that forced authorities to open an additional treatment centre.
Kano, which battled a large outbreak between January 2023 and April 2024, is again recording a dramatic spike. By early November, hospitalisations surpassed 2,300, with more than 400 new cases in four weeks. With the Infectious Disease Hospital overstretched, MSF now admits only severe cases, redirecting others to the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH).
“Most patients arrive late with complications,” said Dr. Jerome Ntarima, MSF’s Emergency Project Medical Referent. “The stories we are getting show several mortalities already happening within communities.”
In Borno, MSF managed 2,553 suspected cases between July and late October—1,651 through home-based care and 902 in isolation wards at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital.
MSF is urging authorities, partners, and donors to act urgently by ramping up vaccination, stabilising supplies of diphtheria antitoxin (DAT) and antibiotics, improving disease reporting, and strengthening the state-level health workforce.
“Early intervention saves lives,” Dr. Ntarima warned.
