The Lagos State government has confirmed eleven persons dead from all the 400 cases of gastroenteritis recorded in the state.
According to the state Commissioner for Health, Prof Akin Abayomi, the rising number of gastroenteritis cases is due to flooding in some parts of the state.
In a statement, Abayomi said gastroenteritis cases had been reported in some local government areas, particularly in Surulere, Mushin, Ajeromi and Lagos Island since mid-October.
He, however, said the situation was under control as a result of the policies and interventions already put in place by the state government.
Of the 400 cases reported so far, the commissioner said “370 of these cases have been treated and discharged.”
He said, “Unfortunately, we have also recorded 11 deaths due to the outbreak. The increase in the number of cases of gastroenteritis is not unconnected with persistent rain with flooding of some local government areas in the state.
“We have been able to send some samples to our laboratories and some of those samples tested positive for a type of cholera but we are not sure whether cholera is responsible for the entire outbreak of diarrhoea and vomiting.”
Abayomi further said the state Ministry of Health would send other samples to other laboratories for in-depth analysis “to see whether this is just a case of cholera or whether there are other pathogens or agents contributing to this outbreak.”
The commissioner also cautioned against the spread of misleading information about the disease outbreak and asked the residents to disregard any news about the disease that did not emanate from official channels.
