HealthNewsWellnessStrange Disease: Two Died, Over 100 Persons Hospitalize In Kano

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KANO — The Kano State Ministry of Health has confirmed that two persons died while over 160 were taken ill from suspected food poisoning in Kano State.

It was gathered that all the patients had taken expired citric acid powdered drinks which expired a year ago, but were still being sold in the market.

The state’s epidemiologist, Dr. Bashir Lawan, said the index case was a six-year-old girl seen on March 6, 2021.

He explained that the outbreak had spread to eight local government areas, including Gwale, Kano Municipal, Dala, Bunkure, Fagge, Gwarzo, and Dawakin Tofa.

Lawan also confirmed that a water sample was taken from Dandolo cemetery’s borehole for analysis to consider other potential causes of the outbreak.

He said the affected patients are showing symptoms of haematuria (bloody urine), dark urine, fever, lethargy, and sometimes yellowness of the eyes (jaundice).

 “We initially suspected viral hemorrhagic, fever, but the test results came back from the National Reference Laboratory as negative for yellow fever and Lassa fever. But we are waiting for Dengue fever,” Lawan said.

He added that about 3 samples of expired mixed fruit and citric acid powder were available for laboratory testing to confirm the link to either expired ingredients or preservatives, while four additional samples were taken for heavy metals and leptospirosis screening, among other technical response activities.

In the meantime, the state government has designated some hospitals for patients affected by the outbreak to be admitted for treatment.

They include Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital and Infectious Disease Hospital, Sheikh Muhammad Jidda Hospital, Shehu Waziri Gidado Hospital, Rano General Hospital, and two hospitals in Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area.

Meanwhile, the state coordinator of the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) says the agency has collected water samples and flavour products for laboratory analysis following the outbreak of the strange infectious disease in Kano metropolis.

He said samples were referred to its laboratory in Kaduna for analysis.

Hassan Umar Shallpella (Regional Correspondent)

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