Kano Confirms 3 Deaths, 284 Infections From Strange Disease

The Kano government, on Tuesday, confirmed three persons dead and 284 others infected in the outbreak of a strange disease.

Commissioner for Health, Aminu Ibrahim-Tsanyawa, spoke to reporters at a press conference.

The medical doctor said the infected persons had been admitted to 25 health facilities.

Ibrahim-Tsanyawa noted that the disease, first recorded on March 10, was suspected to be caused by consumption of contaminated flavour and a brand of expired instant drink products.

He said affected persons were identified in 13 local government areas; 101 of them had been discharged, with 183 currently on admission.

The affected LGAs are Dala Gwale, Kano Municipal, Fage, Ungogo, Kumbotso, Tarauni, Bunkure, Rano, Dawakinjudu, Dawakin Tofa, Gwarzo and Danbatta.

Ibrahim-Tsanyawa disclosed that the index case, a six-year-old girl developed abdominal pain, vomiting, jaundice and urinating blood (hematuria) after drinking water bought from a vendor.

The vendor, according to him, sourced the water from a borehole at a cemetery in the metropolis.

The assumption involves instant drink flavour powder and a variety of salt for industrial use (caustic powder).

“Water, blood and different instant drink flavour powder samples have been taken for tests to pin down a diagnosis, ranging from food-borne disease, food poisoning, Lassa Fever, Yellow Fever, Dengue Fever, Chemical poisoning to Toxix Hepatitis,” he said.

Ibrahim-Tsanyawa noted that the ministry was still awaiting the results of samples analyses to establish the cause(s) of the infection and identify the disease.

The health ministry is working with the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the State Consumer Protection Council (KSCPC).

The state has deployed personnel and scaled up surveillance in the 44 LGAs to check the circulation of the suspected products.