Lagos cholera outbreak death toll hits 24

The Lagos state government says the death toll from the cholera outbreak in the state has risen to 24.

Providing an update on his X page, Akin Abayomi, Lagos commissioner for health, said as of June 19, 417 suspected cases have been recorded out of which 35 have been confirmed.

He added that 24 infected patients have now died of cholera in the state.

On June 11, Abayomi said five people had died, while about 60 residents were hospitalised as a result of a suspected cholera outbreak in some parts of the city.

Days later, the commissioner confirmed the cholera outbreak and said there have been 350 suspected cases, out of which 17 have been confirmed cases, with 15 fatalities.

Kemi Ogunyemi, special adviser to the Lagos governor on health, said a rise in cases was anticipated following the Eid-el Kabir celebration.

She said the ministry of health, in collaboration with the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA), continues to collect samples of water sources, food, and beverages to identify the source of contamination.

“We have also intensified our surveillance activities in communities, particularly in affected local government areas, to address the situation head-on,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Lagos state government says patients who contracted cholera in Eti-Osa LGA had an unregistered tiger nut drink.

READ ALSO: Lagos Island, Ikorodu, Kosofe most hit by Lagos cholera outbreak–LASG

Eti-Osa is the epicentre of the latest cholera outbreak in Lagos, Nigeria’s most populous city and commercial capital.

Speaking in an interview with Punch on Saturday, Kemi Ogunyemi, special adviser to the Lagos state governor on health, said when the government noticed a spike in suspected cholera cases in Eti-Osa LGA, it visited the neighbourhood for a firsthand assessment.

Ogunyemi said a survey showed that people who visited hospitals all said they had consumed a particular tiger nut drink.

She said officials were then dispatched to find the drink in other to test samples for cholera.

“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 (NAFDAC), the regulatory body that ensures the safety of consumables,” she said.

“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.

“Cholera is also water-borne, so we took samples of the water to test it. The bottom line is that we took stool samples because different things cause diarrhoea.

“It could be anything else. We found out that it was confirmed cholera, specifically Vibrio cholera subtype 01, which is the most infectious and aggressive type.

“There are different types, but we identified this one. In Lagos Island, Eti-osa, and Kosofe, we recorded the highest number of cases that went to the hospital.

“I’m not talking about reported cases. These are the people who did the right thing by going to the hospital to complain of symptoms, and they were treated. That’s when we were alerted.”

Ogunyemi added that the government has ramped up sensitisation and awareness to ensure that the outbreak does not morph into an epidemic.