{"id":67262,"date":"2025-06-04T09:38:34","date_gmt":"2025-06-04T09:38:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/?p=67262"},"modified":"2025-06-04T09:38:34","modified_gmt":"2025-06-04T09:38:34","slug":"toxic-air-sparks-viral-disease-outbreak-in-kano","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/2025\/06\/04\/toxic-air-sparks-viral-disease-outbreak-in-kano\/","title":{"rendered":"Toxic Air Sparks Viral Disease Outbreak in Kano"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>By Anifowoshe Oladipupo<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Kano State Government has raised alarm over the presence of toxic air pollutants in parts of the state capital, warning residents of potential health risks following the latest weekly environmental report released by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change.<\/p>\n<p>According to the report, the air quality survey conducted between May 26 and May 30 revealed dangerous levels of pollution in areas including Gaida, Ja\u2019en, Sabon Titi, and Sharada Market, spanning Kano Municipal and Kumbotso Local Government Areas.<\/p>\n<p>The ministry warned that the air in these communities has become unsafe, potentially contributing to a recent outbreak of respiratory illnesses.<\/p>\n<p>Residents of Ja\u2019en and Gaida have reported a disturbing rise in health problems, particularly persistent coughing and respiratory infections affecting both children and adults.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not surprised,\u201d said Ibrahim Sulaiman, a resident of Ja\u2019en. \u201cWe live near an industrial zone where factories release chemical emissions, especially at night. My neighbor has been coughing for nearly two weeks. Now his entire family is affected. We\u2019re really worried.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Data from IQAir on June 3, 2025, placed Kano\u2019s air quality in the \u201cModerate\u201d category, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 79.<\/p>\n<p>The primary pollutant was fine particulate matter (PM2.5), measured at 24.2 micrograms per cubic meter; levels known to pose significant health threats over prolonged exposure.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking with reporters, Professor Isa Abubakar, a consultant physician at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, warned that extended exposure to polluted air could have severe consequences.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAir pollution can trigger asthma, respiratory infections, and, over time, more serious conditions like lung cancer, Parkinson\u2019s disease, Alzheimer\u2019s, and even mental health disorders,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Advising residents in affected areas, Professor Abubakar recommended limiting outdoor activities and using face masks to reduce inhalation of harmful particles.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf possible, people should consider relocating or changing their work environment. Where that\u2019s not feasible, taking preventive measures like wearing masks can offer some protection,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>The state government has assured residents that further assessments and interventions are underway to mitigate the crisis and safeguard public health.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Anifowoshe Oladipupo The Kano State Government has raised alarm over the presence of toxic air pollutants in parts of the state capital, warning residents of potential health risks following the latest weekly environmental report released by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change. According to the report, the air quality survey conducted between May [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":67263,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67262"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67262\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67264,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67262\/revisions\/67264"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}