Four family members, which include a 70- year old grandmother, son, and two others reportedly died after eating amala claimed to have been poisoned.
The tragic incident happened in Eruda community, Ilorin in Ilorin West Local Government Area of Kwara State on Wednesday 7th, August.
Kwara State commissioner of Health, Dr. Amina El- Imam, who confirmed the tragic development said the government has positioned the Healthcare on Outbreak Response Mode.
According to her, one of the death was as a result of gastroenteritis- an Inflammation of the mucous membranes of the stomach and intestine; often caused by an infection.
El-Imam said the entire ministry of health team visited the community after information reached them that a family lost a number of relatives after consuming Lafun-Amala,- a food made from cassava flour.
“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 grandchildren also consumed the same food, fell ill and died. They were taken to the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital where they passed away,” she said.
Commenting on the issue, El-Imam said the amala which was made from Lufan could be the result of the death, she explained that those who consumed the yam flour without mixing it with Lafun were medically okay.
“Those who consumed the mixture of both Lafun and Amala mixture fell ill and eventually, some of them died.”
She also stated that those under medical attention are doing well with the tendency to recover fully, noting further that the resident lives in poorly hygiene environment.
“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 optimal.”
El-Imam explained that the case was a case of chemical food poisoning, which may be due to under-processed cassava which was used in producing the Lafun.
Also she said one death was recorded in Osin Gad, Ilorin West Local Government Area of Kwara State which was traceable to gastroenteritis.
She said, the symptoms that characterized the disease among the patients are vomiting, diarrhea, and general abdominal pain.
“We have another four cases recovering at the moment, in addition, of course, to the four that we unfortunately lost,” she said.
“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,”
“We are looking into providing them with more and better sources of potable water,” she added.
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