2 die, 5 hospitalised as cholera outbreak hits Badagry

Two persons have been confirmed dead while five others were hospitalised following a cholera outbreak in Badagry, Lagos State.

The Medical Director of General Hospital in Badagry, Dr Olatunde Bakare, disclosed this on Thursday, July 11, 2024.

Bakare said the victims were brought to the hospital by some officials of the correctional centre in the town.

Health authorities declared a cholera outbreak in Lagos on June 15 when 436 suspected cases were reported.

Six days later, there were more than 500 suspected cases and 43 confirmed cases, with a 5.4 per cent case fatality rate among the suspected cases reported.

Bakare noted that six inmates of the centre were brought to the hospital at about 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 9.

According to him, one of the inmates was brought in dead while the other died the following morning in the hospital.

Sanwo-Olu: How we prevented cholera outbreak in Lagos

The MD said: “The laboratory test confirmed that they had the disease and they were hospitalised at the emergency axis of the hospital.

“Another inmate was brought in the following day, making five patients receiving treatment now.”

Bakare added that one of the patients had been treated and discharged from the hospital.

He said there was a prompt response by the Lagos State Ministry of Health to the centre, adding: “The ministry has sent in monitoring teams of doctors and environmental service officers to the prison and the General Hospital, Badagry with necessary drugs.

“They brought intravenous fluids and consumables together with environmental improvement and water treatment measures.

“This has led to a decline in new cases and marked improvements in the clinical state of those on admission.”

At the centre in Awarjigoh quarters in Badagry, it was gathered that a medical doctor was sent from the Ikoyi Correctional Centre to ascertain the incident.

The doctor who refused to mention her name said none of the inmates tested were having the disease.

She stated that all measures had been put in place to curb the disease outbreak.

The Star