Modupe Gbadeyanka
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Commissioner for Health in Lagos State, Dr Jide Idris, has confirmed that the two students of Queens College in the state died from water borne diseases.
Dr Idris, while addressing newsmen on Thursday, said tests conducted by the state government confirmed that the water in the school was seriously contaminated.
He said water samples from six sources in the school premises were collected and analysed, while another set of water samples from 10 sources were collected and analysed at the Microbiology Department of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) at Idi-Araba.
According to him, “The results from two laboratories showed high bacteria content in the water samples from the kitchen, behind dining hall and Queen’s delight, the school water factory.
“The bacteria range from Coliforms, Escherichia Coli, Salmonella, Klebsiella Onoana and Aeromonas hydrophila.”
Dr Idris noted that available health records from sick bay of the school indicated that the date of illness was January 16, 2017 and that the total number of students who presented at the clinic on account of abdominal pain, fever, vomiting and diarrhoea was 1,222 from the first day of presentation to the last date of presentation.
The Commissioner pointed out that the infection was most likely spread through contaminated water sources and infection by food handlers, adding that when contaminated water was consumed, the micro-organisms were passed into the individual’s drinking the water.
He said 16 ill cases were admitted in various hospitals, saying that nine had been discharged, two dead, while one was still on admission at the Intensive Care Unit of LASUTH and three in LUTH.
However, Dr Idris advised the school to delay its resumption till appropriate measures are been put in place for the safety of the students.
