A deadly measles outbreak has struck Unguwar Kanawa community in Tankarau, Dutsen Abba, in Zaria Local Government Area of Kaduna State, reportedly claiming the lives of at least five children and leaving many others bedridden.
The outbreak, linked to widespread vaccine refusal, has exposed the devastating consequences of misconceptions about immunization among the villagers.
The Village Head of Unguwar Kanawa, Nasiru Yunusa, who confirmed the deaths said two children of same family died seven days ago.
“Two-thirds of our people didn’t like vaccinating their children due to misconceptions. But now, many are changing their attitude because of the sickness and deaths we are witnessing,” Yunusa said.
According to him, there are other sick children that are confirmed to have measles withing the community.
He said most of such children were from houses whose parents refused to immunized them.
He also lamented the lack of healthcare facilities in the area, noting that the nearest Primary Health Centre is about seven kilometers away.
“Women now deliver at home because there’s no clinic here. We are appealing to the government to provide a health clinic for us,” he pleaded.
Saude Safiyanu, a housewife in the community, recounted her personal tragedy, having lost four of her children to preventable illnesses.
We don’t vaccinate our children and we don’t take them to the hospital for immunization because my husband doesn’t approve it,” she said.
This is how I lost four of my six children after the first child. But I later understood the importance of vaccination, so I begged him to allow me to vaccinate the last girl I gave birth to, and now she is very healthy.”
Saude noted that resistance to vaccination was once widespread among men in the community, but recent experiences were shifting opinions.
“In the past, our men always opposed to immunization, but now their mindset is changing after many children fell sick and some died,” she added, urging women to ensure their children receive life-saving vaccines.
Confirming the outbreak, Hamza Ibrahim Ikara, Director of Disease Control and Immunization at the Kaduna State Primary Health Care Board, said the agency had intensified routine immunization efforts as a key strategy to reduce maternal and child mortality.
“In response to this outbreak, I have directed the Local Government Surveillance Officer to strengthen surveillance. We are covering all communities within Ungwan Kanawa to ensure no child showing symptoms is missed,” he said.
Ikara explained that outreach teams were visiting households to administer vaccines and had secured the support of male heads of households a crucial step in communities where women often need permission to vaccinate their children.
“Today by 4 p.m., our vaccination teams will visit the community to carry out vaccination. Our goal is to quickly stop the outbreak within this community and across the local government area,” he added.
UNICEF Chief of Field Office in Kaduna, Dr. Gerida Birukila, who also visited the community as part of the Vaccinations Week and Polio Vaccination in collaboration with the state government expressed concern over the high number of unvaccinated children in the community.
“Three years ago, this community had 100% refusal for vaccination. Now, as you can see, several children are suffering from measles,” she said.
She said the current vaccine shortage in the country posed additional challenges.
“We are trying to find vaccines for measles amid national shortages. It’s crucial we secure predictable vaccination supplies to protect the children,” Dr. Birukila noted.
Dr. Birukila praised the efforts of religious and traditional leaders in encouraging immunization acceptance and called for continued support from all stakeholders.
“We appeal to parents, community leaders, the government, and partners like UNICEF and WHO to encourage the uptake of immunization. Many illnesses are now appearing because children are either not immunized or not immunized on time,” she said.