The Lagos State Government has clarified its position on the cause of the cholera outbreak currently ravaging the state.
News reports had earlier suggested that the consumption of
an unregistered tiger nut drink reportedly sold in Eti-Osa Local Government
Area of the state was responsible for the outbreak.
The reports referenced an interview the Special Adviser to
the Governor on Health, Kemi Ogunyemi, had with The Punch Newspaper.
However, in his reaction to the report, the Director of
Public Affairs at the state’s Ministry of Health, Tunbosun Ogunbanwo, said Ms
Ogunyemi did not disclose any conclusion of the state’s investigations into the
causes of the outbreak.
Mr Ogunbanwo, in a telephone interview with PREMIUM TIMES
Saturday night, said Mrs Ogunyemi was misrepresented. He said various possible
sources, including the tiger nut drink, were being investigated to determine
the cause of the outbreak.
Tiger nut as major denominator
In the interview, Mrs Ogunyemi classified a tiger nut drink
reportedly consumed by many of those who presented cholera cases in Eti-Osa
Local Government Area as a significant denominator, noting that most of them
confirmed they took the drink before presenting cases of diarrhoea and other
cholera symptoms at the hospitals.
Mrs Ogunyemi said in the interview: “So when we noticed an
increase in cases in Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos specifically, we
went there to investigate. We carried out a survey and found that the common
denominator, which was one of the deadly factors, was a tiger nut drink. People
who came to the hospitals all identified that they had drunk tiger nut drink.
We couldn’t just take their word for it, so we had to take that drink and test
it to see what was in it. We immediately sent people out to look for those
selling it so we could take a sample.
“We found empty bottles with a name on them, but we
discovered that it wasn’t even registered with the National Agency for Food and
Drug Administration and Control, the regulatory body that ensures the safety of
consumables. There was a phone number and a name on the bottle, and we started
tracing. We did contact tracing, similar to what we did with COVID-19. We
combed the area to ask people where they got the drinks from. We couldn’t find
any full bottles. We only found empty ones, which were of no use because we
could not test them. The phone number on the bottle was not reachable. From our
investigations, we realised that the beverages were not registered, so the
producers hadn’t gone through the processes to ensure that what they were
producing was safe for the public to consume. We traced it to that.”
But Mrs Ogunyemi added that since cholera is a water-borne
disease, the government has continued to test the water, food, and stool of
patients who present the symptoms, particularly those who had not taken
antibiotics before approaching hospitals.
Backstory
Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, has, within the last
couple of days, been ravaged by a cholera outbreak that has claimed more than
20 lives from almost 500 suspected cases.
The state’s Commissioner for Health, Akin Abayomi, on
Saturday morning, announced an increase in the number of fatalities recorded
from the disease, noting that cases have been recorded across 20 Local
Government Areas (LGA) in the state.
Before now, rumours had spread through the city, especially
on social media, that the rampaging disease could be linked to the consumption
of tiger nut drinks. The state immediately dispelled the rumour, insisting that
investigations were still ongoing to unravel the causes of the development.
However, the Saturday reports suggested that the state had
confirmed the cause of the disease.
Govt reacts
In his reaction, Mr Ogunbanwo said no state government
official had made such a claim with a tone of finality.
He said: “Neither the Special Adviser on Health to the
Governor nor any official of the state government gave any of such conclusion.
What the SA said was that the state is investigating everything including
water, food and drinks. There is no conclusion yet.”
Cholera surge
In her interview with Punch newspaper, Mrs Ogunyemi noted
that the disease spread further across the state during Eid festivities.
She said more people showed up at hospitals with diarrhoea
and vomiting following the celebrations, while some died as a result of a delay
in getting medical help.
Mrs Ogunyemi noted that the first symptom of the disease is
usually abdominal pain, followed by diarrhoea. Other symptoms may include
fever, vomiting, and muscle pain.
“However, we anticipated an increase after the Ileyah
celebrations, which indeed happened. Unfortunately, we also had an increase in
deaths.
“From our history, we realised they had diarrhoea and
vomiting for the past two or three days, but they never came to the hospital.
They were probably treating themselves locally, which we advise against. That’s
how we know. We’re hoping for a decline as we continue our efforts in the
community,” she said.
She warned the public to desist from self-medication and
rather report to a medical centre upon noticing symptoms of the disease.
Data on disease
Lagos Island, Eti-Osa and Kosofe LGAs had the highest number
of persons who reported to the hospital upon noticing symptoms of cholera.
Suspected Cholera cases in Lagos rose to 423 after the state
recorded an additional six new infections on Thursday, 20 June.
The state authorities released the new data only 24 hours
after it previously announced an increase in fatalities recorded from the
disease.
Currently, 24 deaths and 35 confirmed infections out of 417
suspected cases have been recorded across 20 LGAs, including Eti Osa.
Aside from Eti Osa, cases have been reported in Agege,
Badagry, Ikeja, Mushin, Ajeromi-Ifelodun, Epe, Ikorodu, Ojo, and Alimosho.