Woman, son, two grandchildren die of food poison in Ilorin
By Dele Moses, Ilorin
A 70-year-old woman and three members of her family have been reported dead of suspected food poison in Ilorin.
This happened just as another person is also reported to have died of gastroenteritis in the town.
The three other people reported to have died alongside the woman were said to be her son and two grandchildren.
The four of them reportedly lost their lives after eating amala made up of mixture of cassaava and yam flours in Eruda area of Ilorin.
Kwara Commissioner for Health, Dr Amina El-Imam, while speaking on the incidents said cassava flour of the mixed flours was suspected to have contained chemical poison that led to the death of the four people.
She said when the report of the incident got to her ministry a team from the ministry visited the area to ascertain what actually happened before determining what next line of action to be taken.
“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 grandkids also consumed the same food, fell ill and died. They were taken to the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, where they passed away,” she stated.
The commissioner said that the people who consumed yam flour without Lafun were fine, however those who consumed the mixture of both Lafun and amala mixture fell ill including the four who died.
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She said some others who were admitted in hospital were already recovering from the effect of the poisonous food.
“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 really optimal,” she stated.
El-Imam said the incident was a case of chemical food poisoning, “potentially due to under processed cassava used in the production of lafun.”
Speaking on the second case where one person died at the Osin-Gada area of the town, the commissioner explained that an Initial Rapid Diagnostic Test was conducted on the suspected case of cholera, which turned out to be gastroenteritis.
“The community had a 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.
The commissioner said that the deceased was the index case who demonstrated this illness before it spread to others.
El-Imam, who rated personal and environmental hygiene of the area as not too impressive, said that efforts have been made to ensure the disease is contained to the currently treated patients.
“We are looking into providing them with more and better sources of potable water,” she stated.
