The Nasarawa State Government has dispatched health workers to the Gidinye community in Obi Local Government Area after a mysterious illness claimed the lives of five children within 24 hours. The affected community, part of the Jenkwe Development Area, is home to thousands, including many children.
Reports indicate that the children, aged between five and fifteen, began experiencing stomach aches, vomiting, and purging on Monday and Tuesday before they succumbed to the illness.
Dr. Grace Tsakpa, the State Epidemiologist, confirmed the incident and said health workers have been deployed to collect samples from the surviving family members to determine the cause of the illness.
“We have taken samples from the other family members, but our suspicion is going towards food poisoning. This is because the incident happened after they ate food at the farm. The five children belong to two brothers. The family went to the farm, cooked there, and ate. It was on the farm that one of the children started complaining of abdominal pains, and he later died. The other four children also died after developing symptoms,” Dr. Tsakpa explained.
Dr. Tsakpa expressed condolences to the affected families and assured them that her team would work diligently to uncover the actual cause of the children’s deaths.
Samuel Akala, the Publicity Secretary of the Migili Youth Association, described the tragedy.
“We lost the five children in less than 24 hours in the same community. The children left home for the farm. While on the farm, one of them started complaining of stomach ache and started vomiting and purging at the same time. Within a short time, he began to have difficulty with his breathing, and when he was rushed home, he died. The other children had similar symptoms and died,” Akala said.
Akala called on the Nasarawa State Government and relevant authorities to investigate the situation urgently to prevent further loss of life. He suggested that the Centre for Disease Control and the Primary Healthcare Development Agency be involved in the investigation.
“The case is still on the increase, and we have yet to discover the cause of their deaths. The circumstances that resulted in the sudden death of the children call for forensic findings. We need to carry out disease surveillance in communities around Obi and Keana LGAs where there have been reported cases of acute diarrhoea, vomiting, and death of children in the past few days,” Akala said.