Cholera Outbreak In Lagos Traced To Igbo Delicacies "Abacha"

 

Favour Anosike (not real name) was hale and hearty, as he showed no sign of any illness. But by Tuesday, October 22, Favour and his mother took ill, and two days later, the 13-year-old boy was dead. His mother only escaped the same fate by the whiskers.

The victim of Jemtok area of Okota, Lagos, was in junior secondary school when his life was cut short by what was suspected to be cholera.The disease has been ravaging parts of the country for weeks now with Lagos recording its share of infections and concomitant fatalities.

Expressing shock at Favour’s death, a neighbour, whose mini-flat is located close to the one shared by Favour’s family, disclosed that she had no idea where the bereaved family could have contracted the disease from.

According to the neighbour, who preferred anonymity, the compound where they lived was always well maintained.

“The only logical conclusion we could draw from the sad incident is that perhaps they got infected with something they ate. Everything happened so fast and for days, we were all in shock. A day before he took ill, Favour was seen without any sign that something was wrong. He ran errands for his brothers and parents. He was the last born of the family, so, quite often, he was the one who did the chores and ran errands.

“However, two days later, he died in their house after defecating and vomiting throughout the day. His mother was to suffer the same fate, but she made it in time to a hospital where doctors won the battle to save her life,” she narrated.

When Saturday Tribune got wind of the incident, Favour’s mother was said to have just regained consciousness at the hospital and had no idea that she had lost her child.

Deadly meal of local salad
Some of the recorded cholera cases have since been linked to the consumption of abacha, a local salad sold in parts of the state.

While it is not known if Favour’s case has anything to do with the consumption of the said meal, another victim lost her life during the week after she had reportedly eaten the local salad, made largely from cassava, and mostly relished by people of the Igbo extraction.

Simply identified as Blessing, the victim, who reportedly just got married barely two months ago, was said to have been admitted at the Military Hospital, Yaba, where doctors failed to save her life.

The death of Blessing also increased the reported number of people who had died of cholera since its outbreak in Lagos about two weeks ago to four.

Abacha-related infection was confirmed recently by the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris, who pointed out that an analysis conducted on some samples of the salad obtained from some of the sellers had germs that could cause cholera, typhoid and other diseases.

However, experts have urged the government to, apart from clamping down on food sellers, make efforts to identify other possible causes of the disease.

According to them, the call became necessary as Lagos streets were always flooded with ‘pure’ water from unverified sources.

Similarly, the attention of the state government has also been drawn to poor sewage management system in many parts of the state, a situation which health experts believe could increase the risks of cholera infection.

It will be recalled that Saturday Tribune recently published a report about some unwholesome practices in parts of Lagos whereby some residents not only defecated into the lagoon, but they also discarded untreated sewage contents of their septic tanks into unapproved places.

Speaking on the development, a Lagos-based general health practitioner, Dr Abimbola Ademilekan, pointed out that in order to forestall future occurrence of cholera outbreak, there was the need for the government to restructure the sewage management system like it did about other wastes generated in the state.

“As long as the government remains ambiguous about sewage management in the state, there is a high chance of people disposing of their sewages in unhygienic conditions. And as long as this happens, one cannot rule out cases such as cholera, especially given the fact that houses in many communities are usually clustered together,” she stated.

Dr Abimbola, in a telephone chat with Saturday Tribune, added that “everyone knows how the household wastes generated are managed, especially with the abundance of waste trucks, but nobody really knows how sewage is managed in Lagos State.”          

But Dr Idris, who had indicated that not all cases of diarrhoea should be viewed as cholera, insisted that the state government, through its various organs, was working to rid the state of the disease.

“Since the detection of the disease in parts of the state, various organs of the government have been working to forestall its spread.

Organs like the Ministries of Health, Information and Strategy, and Environment, respectively; Water Corporation, Waste Water Management Office, Rural Development and Water Regulatory Agency have risen up to the occasion.

“They have worked tirelessly to contain the spread and so far, we have not recorded any new case of confirmed cholera,” said Dr Idris.

He said further that the government would leave no stone unturned in its quest to identify other sources of the disease, while also urging good personal and environmental hygiene on the part of the residents at all times.