Diphtheria Surveillance Dashboard in Kano
Author : MSF WaCA, Med Department, Epidemiology
Cases were low and fairly stable in early 2025. From around Week 25, cases began to increase, with a sharp rise from about Week 38 and a peak between Weeks 41 and 48. After Week 48, cases declined slightly but remained high through Week 52. In Week 2 of 2026, case numbers remain high, indicating ongoing transmission.
Most diphtheria cases occurred among people aged 5 years and above. This group showed an earlier and much stronger increase in cases, starting around Week 38 of 2025, and cases remain high into Week 2 of 2026. Cases among children under 5 years stayed much lower, with only a small increase during peak weeks. The CFR fluctuated widely earlier in 2025 when case numbers were low, but it decreased and became more stable during the peak period and into early 2026, suggesting improved case management.
Higher attack rates remain concentrated in LGAs around Kano Municipal, especially in urban and peri-urban areas such as Ungogo. Transmission is still ongoing in several LGAs, while others report few or no recent cases, showing that the geographic pattern continues to change. Case-fatality rates vary across LGAs, often influenced by small numbers of cases or delays in care. Crude mortality remains highest in central LGAs. Overall, these patterns confirm that the outbreak is still active and dynamic in early 2026.
The highest number of diphtheria cases was consistently reported in Ungogo, Nasarawa, Gwale, Dala, and Kumbotso.
| LGA | Cases (2026-W02) | Deaths (2026-W02) | Cases (2026-W01-2026-W02) | Deaths (2026-W01-2026-W02) | AR (2026-W01-2026-W02, per 100,000) | CFR (2026-W01-2026-W02, %) | Total cases (2025-2026) | Total deaths (2025-2026) | CFR (2025-2026, %) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ungogo | 68 | 0 | 115 | 0 | 16.98 | 0 | 1382 | 78 | 5.64 |
| Nasarawa | 49 | 0 | 91 | 1 | 8.33 | 1.1 | 1011 | 60 | 5.93 |
| Dala | 38 | 0 | 75 | 1 | 9.78 | 1.33 | 618 | 26 | 4.21 |
| Kumbotso | 41 | 2 | 70 | 3 | 12.91 | 4.29 | 533 | 40 | 7.5 |
| Gwale | 30 | 1 | 62 | 2 | 9.35 | 3.23 | 643 | 30 | 4.67 |
| Fagge | 20 | 0 | 47 | 0 | 12.91 | 0 | 349 | 14 | 4.01 |
| Kano Municipal | 8 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 2.54 | 0 | 293 | 17 | 5.8 |
| Tarauni | 8 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 3.95 | 0 | 241 | 24 | 9.96 |
| Out Of Area | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 16.67 | 47 | 20 | 42.55 |
| Rimin Gado | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2.08 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 0 |
| Takai | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1.08 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Warawa | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1.27 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 13.33 |
| Gabasawa | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.78 | 0 | 19 | 5 | 26.32 |
| Dawakin Kudu | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.48 | 0 | 51 | 6 | 11.76 |
| Dawakin Tofa | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.44 | 0 | 65 | 10 | 15.38 |
| Gezawa | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.39 | 0 | 89 | 6 | 6.74 |
| Garun Mallam | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 9.09 |
| Wudil | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.29 | 100 | 14 | 4 | 28.57 |
| Tudun Wada | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.24 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 12.5 |
| Minjibir | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.26 | 0 | 26 | 9 | 34.62 |
| Kura | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.38 | 0 | 25 | 5 | 20 |
| Sumaila | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.22 | 100 | 7 | 3 | 42.86 |
| Bebeji | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.29 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Katagum | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Tofa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 12.5 |
| Bichi | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 6 | 75 |
| Kabo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Garko | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 25 |
| Albasu | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Kiru | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Tsanyawa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 141 | 40 | 28.37 |
| Madobi | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 16.67 |
| Gaya | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 50 |
| Dambatta | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 18.18 |
| Bunkure | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 5 | 50 |
| Bagwai | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 50 |
| Rano | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 50 |
| Kibiya | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 50 |
| Makoda | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ajingi | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Rogo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Shanono | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doguwa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 33.33 |
| Gwarzo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Karaye | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kunchi | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Garun Malam | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 274 | 4 | 527 | 10 | 3.07 | 1.9 | 5697 | 423 | 7.42 |
During Weeks 1 and 2 of 2026, Ungogo continued to report the highest number of cases (115 cases) and had the highest attack rate (17.0 per 100,000), with no deaths reported during this period. Nasarawa, Dala, Kumbotso, Gwale, and Fagge also reported high case numbers, confirming ongoing transmission in mainly urban and peri-urban LGAs, but with lower attack rates and CFRs than Ungogo. Overall, transmission remains concentrated in a small number of high-burden LGAs, while the overall CFR in Weeks 1 and 2 of 2026 remained low (1.9%), suggesting continued improvement in case management and access to care.