Esther Salifu
Three days after eating Amala in kwara state, A 70-year-old grandmother, her son and two other family members lost their lives after eating a poisoned Amala meal in the Eruda community, Ilorin in Ilorin West Local Government Area of the state.
The state Commissioner of Health, Dr Amina El-Imam, said the victims’ death was from the consumption of Amala believed to contain poison.
This was disclosed at a press conference , in Ilorin, the state capital, on Tuesday.
While noting that one death was recorded from gastroenteritis.
She revealed that the entire health team of the ministry visited the community after the report of a family who lost a number of their relatives, after consumption of Lafun-Amala made from cassava flour.
On getting there, the claim was that there was an instance of food poisoning where the 70-year-old woman fell ill and died after consuming Amala.
“Unfortunately, her son and grandchildren also consumed the same food, fell ill and died. They were taken to the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital where they passed away,”
“Those who consumed the mixture of both Lafun and Amala mixture fell ill and eventually, some of them died.”
El-Imam stated that this is a case of chemical food poisoning, potentially due to under-processed cassava used in the production of the Lafun.
We have another four cases recovering at the moment, in addition, of course, to the four that we unfortunately lost,” she lamented.
Similarly, the commissioner disclosed that an Initial Rapid Diagnostic Test was conducted on the suspected case of cholera, which turned out to be gastroenteritis.
“Some are doing well and hopefully, following intensive medical treatment, should be able to recover fully. It was observed that the residence was in a location where personal and environmental hygiene was not optimal,” she said.
The community is reported to have few cases of stooling and vomiting, predominantly among children, of which, unfortunately, one life was lost.
“The vomiting and stooling drew the attention of the state’s disease reporting structure.
“On getting there, treatment was immediately commenced and all the affected patients have received immediate standard treatments to stop the symptoms and treat them and restore them to health,” she said.
She pointed out that personal and environmental hygiene is lacking.
“We are looking into providing them with more and better sources of potable water,” she said.
The Kwara State Government has placed the Healthcare on Outbreak Response Mode after confirmation of the death
