Grandma, Son, two others Perish after eating in Kwara

After it was confirmed that a 70-year-old grandmother, her son, and two other family members had died after consuming an allegedly poisoned Amala meal in the Eruda community of Ilorin in the Ilorin West Local Government Area, the Kwara State Government put the healthcare system on an Outbreak Response Mode.

The victims' deaths, according to state health commissioner Dr. Amina El-Imam, were caused by eating amala, which was thought to contain poison. El-Imam also revealed that one case of gastroenteritis was reported during a news conference held in the state capital of Ilorin.

She said that the ministry's whole health team came to the community in response to a family's report of several family members dying after consuming Lafun-Amala, a product prepared from cassava flour. When they arrived, the story was that the 70-year-old woman had died from food sickness after ingesting Amala. Regretfully, she ate the same food as her son and grandkids, became sick, and passed away. After being brought to the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, they died there, the woman stated. El-Imam clarified that the individuals who ingested the yam flour without Lafun were okay and suggested that the Amala created from Lafun might have been the cause of the death.

As she stated, "Those who ingested the combination of both Lafun and Amala mixture became sick and eventually died."

 The commissioner said that a number of the other patients were recovering well at the facilities where they were being treated.

"After receiving intense medical care, some people are doing well and should be able to fully recover. The apartment was found to be in an area with subpar environmental and personal hygiene, the statement said. El-Imam claimed that the underprocessed cassava used to make the Lafun may be the cause of this case of chemical food poisoning."

"Aside from the four cases that we sadly lost, we currently have four more cases recovering," she bemoaned. In a similar vein, the commissioner said that a suspected case of cholera underwent an Initial Rapid Diagnostic Test, which identified the condition as gastroenteritis."

She clarified that a single gastroenteritis-related death was noted at Osin Gada, in the Ilorin West Local Government Area of Kwara. There were a few instances of vomiting and diarrhea in the neighborhood, mostly involving children, and regrettably, one of those cases resulted in death. The state's disease reporting system was alerted to the vomiting and diarrhea.