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By Seyi Babalola
Dr. Kemi Ogunyemi, Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Health, has disclosed that the state’s current cholera epidemic, which began on June 10 and 11, 2024, was caused by an unregistered tiger nut drink.
The cholera outbreak has spread to numerous Lagos local government districts, including Lagos Island, Eti-Osa, and Kosofe, with the highest number of cases reported in hospitals.
In an interview, Kemi Ogunyemi said that the government has seen an upsurge in cases in the Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos.
She said that a survey found that a common denominator was a tiger nut drink in circulation.
Ogunyemi stated that the tiger nut drink was not registered with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
The special adviser to the governor on health said that everyone who came to the hospitals admitted to drinking the tiger nuts.
She stated that ongoing attempts to identify the source of the drink involve collecting samples and undertaking contact tracing, which was similar to the strategy utilized during the COVID-19 epidemic.
She added that attempts to locate the source of the drinks were complicated by a lack of registration and the inaccessibility of the phone number on the bottle.
Ogunyemi said that further examination of stool samples from afflicted people revealed the presence of Vibrio cholerae subtype 01, the most infectious and severe strain of cholera.
“Of course, 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.”
While noting the outbreak’s significant impact, which has disrupted daily life and spread beyond Lagos due to travel, she revealed that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and international organizations such as UNICEF, the Red Cross, and the WHO are actively monitoring and managing the situation.
She asked the populace to follow hygiene regulations and make sure that goods purchased for consumption are registered with the appropriate government organizations.
