King’s College diphtheria outbreak now under control, says PTA chair

The parents teachers association (PTA) of King’s College Lagos (KCL) says the suspected diphtheria outbreak in the school is now under control.

The parents had raised concerns over reports of the outbreak that led to hospitalisation of some students and the reported death of a boy.

The parents faulted the management of the school for its seeming silence and for not swinging into action promptly in the face of the outbreak.

The children were given diphtheria vaccines in the school premises and delegates of the World Health Organisation (WHO) were said to have visited the school.

Speaking with journalists on Wednesday, Peter Oluwaleye, the PTA chairman, thanked the state government and relevant authorities for their intervention.

He said the situation was now under control, adding that the children were in high spirits.

“If we had not taken this step, if we had not been proactive by involving every stakeholder, federal ministry of education, federal ministry of health, the state government, the local government, we won’t be where we are. It’s good as we have spoken out,” he said.

“A lot of things could have happened if we had not spoken out. We reported immediately we heard about the case and everybody began to work but unfortunately we lost the boy.

“Where we are now is the fact that our principal spoke out and actually helped him a lot. The boy might have died and everything swept under the carpet.

“But the fact that he spoke out and called for help, it became something that could be contained within the school. All the parents that have been panicking can now rest that everything’s under control.

“Our boys are in high spirits and they’re happy that this matter is being given the utmost attention that it requires.

“Everybody’s happy about it — the school community, the school management, the federal government, the federal minister of education, the permanent secretary, the old boys, the FBMC. Everybody is happy that the situation is under control.”