Schools in Mbutu Community, Aboh Mbaise Local Government Area, Imo State, have been immediately closed due to a diphtheria outbreak that has killed multiple children.  

According to Daily Trust, the precise number of deaths is still unknown as of Wednesday.  In a statement released on May 26, 2025, Iheukwumere Alaribe, the Chairman of Aboh Mbaise LGA, confirmed the development.  

The toxin-producing bacterium Corynebacterium diphtheriae is the cause of the highly contagious disease diphtheria, which mainly affects the nose and throat but can also affect the skin.

The local government has acted quickly to stop the spread of the disease, closing schools temporarily and advising parents to keep their kids indoors. 

It is spread by respiratory droplets from coughing or sneezing or by direct contact with contaminated objects or infected people.

“Diphtheria claimed the lives of the children less than a week after its outbreak.

“The chairman stated that the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Department of Disease Prevention and Control in the Imo State Ministry of Health, and health workers from Aboh Mbaise LGA were working tirelessly to investigate and contain the outbreak.

“An isolation centre has been established at Mbutu Health Centre, with health workers deployed to quarantine children who may have been exposed to the disease and to provide care for affected families,” said Godspower Dike, the spokesman for the chairman.

Source