How unregistered tiger nut drinks caused cholera outbreak in Lagos – Official

The Lagos State Government has attributed the recent cholera outbreak in the state to an unregistered tiger nut drink.

The cholera outbreak has impacted multiple local government areas in Lagos, including Lagos Island, Eti-Osa, and Kosofe, with hospitals reporting the highest number of cases.

As of June 21, Lagos has recorded 24 deaths and 35 confirmed cholera cases, with Eti-Osa identified as the epicenter of the outbreak in Nigeria’s commercial capital.

In an interview with Punch on Saturday, Kemi Ogunyemi, special adviser to the Lagos state governor on health, mentioned that upon noticing a rise in suspected cholera cases in Eti-Osa LGA, the government conducted a direct assessment of the area.

Ogunyemi revealed that a survey indicated a common factor was a tiger nut drink being sold, while noting it was not registered with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

She mentioned that authorities were then sent out to locate the drink in order to test samples for cholera.

Her words: “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.

“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 urged residents to practice good hygiene and ensure that the items they purchase for consumption are registered with the appropriate government agencies.

[Vanguard]