Twenty-five children die from mystery disease in Lagos

– More than two dozen children have died from a mystery disease in Lagos state. – The local community in the affected area has never encountered anything like this outbreak before. – Health workers have been dispatched to the scene and a containment operation is underway. Residents of Otodo-Gbame community in Ikate, Lekki, Lagos state, are battling to save their children from a mystery disease which has claimed the lives of 25 children in the area. Some medical professionals believe the disease to be measles as the affected children developed rashes and usually died two to three days afterwards. Some families, most of whom work as fishermen and fish merchants, lost two to three children each when the disease ravaged the area in January and the first week of February. Health workers from the Eti-Osa local government area visited the community last Wednesday and started an immunization programme for local children. Share on FacebookShare on TwitterAnago Benedict lost three of her children to the mystery disease However, two children died in the presence of the health workers while the vaccines were being administered. Local woman Anago Benedict, who lost three of her children to the disease, giving their names as Taiye, Kehinde and Jisine, said that apart from the rashes on their bodies, they also vomited blood before they died. “My children fell sick in the first week of February. The disease is ravaging our area, and we did not have anyone to run to,” she said. “My children were killed by the disease. They were vomiting blood. I did not know what name to call the disease.Another woman, Stella Paul, mother of one of the two children that died on Wednesday, said her girl was ill for only two days. “Her name was Esther. She was two years old. She died on Wednesday in the presence of the health workers. She was sick for only two days. I have three children. Esther was the youngest. Emmanuel is the first.” Another resident, Atuku Daddy, who lost his niece Kehinde Petito, urged the government to provide health care facilities in the community. “The girl [my niece] was two years old. She died on February 8. She was ill for just three days, and she was rushed to the hospital, where she died,” Daddy said. Share on FacebookShare on TwitterLocal residents in Otodo-Gbame remain terrified for their children “In the night, she could not sleep. Some of the symptoms we saw were swollen private parts and high temperature. We call it Ina oru. In the afternoon, she would play, but in the evening, her body would become hot. “I work as a fisherman, and I was born in this community. Nothing of such had happened in our area before now,” he said. “A family lost up to three children to the disease. That is why we appeal to the state government to give us a hospital.” The Lagos health ministry said it had sent epidemiologists to the community to verify the outbreakThe ministry’s spokesperson, Mrs. Adeola Salako, said blood samples and other body fluids had been collected for examination. “An epidemiological investigation, led by the state epidemiologists from the Ministry of Health, commenced on Wesdnesday, February 10,” she said. “The investigation is meant to verify the assertions and the cause of deaths through laboratory investigation of water, throat swabs and blood samples of children with suspected cases and to proffer solutions. “It is worthy of note that no further death has been recorded since then.”