How father lost four daughters to diphtheria in Kano

• The grief-stricken and deeply distressed father recounted how the disease took her daughters one after the other, leaving him with nothing but anguish, pain and irreparable losses

A life-altering and devastating tragedy has struck in the Hotoron Yan Dodo community in Tarauni Local Government Area of Kano State, casting a dark cloud of gloom and pessimism on the enclave.

The tragedy happened when calamity befell the home of one Malam Yusuf Maitama. He lost four out of his five children to diphtheria, a virulent disease, in the space of two weeks.

The grief-stricken and deeply distressed father recounted how the disease took her daughters one after the other, leaving him with nothing but anguish, pain and irreparable losses.

In an interview with DAILY POST, Maitama narrated how his children fell ill one after the other, showing symptoms such as fever, sore throat, nasal discharge, and the appearance of a white membrane in the throat, classic signs of diphtheria.

However, the family initially did not realise that they were dealing with the deadly disease as they tried to tend to the youngest child, a girl under five years of age, who contracted the disease first at home.

But their effort to manage the situation proved abortive as the kids’ situation got worse.

“She woke up with a fever, sore throat, catarrh, and a visible white substance in her throat,” Malam Yusuf explained.

“We tried to manage it at home, but her condition worsened. She became very weak, so we rushed her to the hospital. Sadly, she died the same day.”

Just days later, he said, her seven-year-old sister showed similar symptoms. Despite being taken to the hospital, she too passed away within two days.

“That was the second child in one week. At first, people even suggested maybe it was spiritual. But doctors confirmed it was diphtheria. That’s when I realised the rest of my kids were at serious risk,” he said in tears.

According to Malam Yusuf, the other three children were also tested, and all three were found to be infected; two more died. The eldest daughter survived after receiving urgent medical attention.

“The third victim passed away seven days after her sisters. She had already been admitted to Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, where doctors said one of her kidneys was failing. But due to a lack of available hospital beds, we had to take her home temporarily. She died that very night,” he said, emotionally drained.

Now, fear and sorrow have enveloped not just Malam Yusuf’s household, but the entire community. Residents, particularly those with young children, live in anxiety. Some health officials have since visited the area, fumigated the house, and administered vaccinations to other children in the vicinity.

This is not the first time diphtheria has wreaked havoc on a single family in Kano. In 2024, three children from one family in Gaida, Kumbotso LGA, died of the disease within one week