Prof Isaac
Adewole, minister of health has ordered investigation to unravel the cause of
dead of two students at Queens College in Yaba, Lagos, south-west Nigeria.
Healthstyleplus Online said Adewole who was in Lagos for the
commissioning of the new Secretariat of the West African College of Surgeon,
had received a distress call alleging the outbreak of water borne disease in
which students were reported to have developed diarrhoea disease which led to
deaths in the School.
Investigation
however revealed that the School Authority might be culpable in the
allegation having been indicted a few weeks previously by a visiting team of
investigators from the Federal Ministry of Education that the School’s water
and environmental sanitation conditions were “substandard, poor and unsuitable
for learning”, said a parent of the School.
“In fact we
understand the School was rated poorly for the fact that the facilities in the
School are being overstretched and was no longer sufficient to cater for its
teeming population of about 4000 students”, our source lamented.
Although the
minister urged parents of the School to remain calm as a thorough investigation
would be carried out on the cause of deaths more so, since the deaths occurred in
the homes of the affected.
Our correspondent
learnt that albeit the School went on midterm break on Wednesday, prior to the
break, there was an upsurge in the cases of students admitted in the School
sick bay in the last three weeks “all students had similar complaints of
diarrhoea and vomiting which the school doctor cannot deny”said the parent who
spoke to Healthstyplus online.
According to
a statement issued by the Director of Press, Mrs. Boade Akinola, “The
Minister was on his way to the Airport when he received the distress message
and diverted his convoy to visit the School in the company of the Chief
Medical Director, LUTH where he met the representative of Lagos State
Commissioner for Health, Dr Erinosho and the Principal Dr. (Mrs) Lami Amodu and
her staff in a meeting”.
He was told
the school is currently on mid-term break but there were two reported deaths of
students at home. One due to febrile illness and cause of the second is
unknown.
Following
his interaction, the Minister has directed the officials of the Ministry of
Health, Community Health , and LUTH to ascertain the cause of death of the
students, inspect the school environment including the kitchen, examine
the source of water supply and text its suitability for human consumption and
also visit the bereaved families.
The report
of investigation will be forwarded to the Minister of Education who has been
informed on the steps taken, as the Minister assured government is on top
of the situation, the statement added.
But
investigations by Healthstyleplus Online also revealed that about three weeks
ago, the attention of the School Principal, Dr (Mrs) Lami Amodu was
drawn to the poor environmental sanitation and water sources in the School as
well as the unhygienic condition of the Kitchen which have remain source of
concern to parents.
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