Following the consumption of suspected poisonous alcohol that has claimed the lives of residents in Ondo State, the death toll has risen to 49, while the number of affected persons has increased to 170 as cases spread to neighbouring Irele Local Government Area.
Ondo State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Banji Ajaka, disclosed the latest figures during an update in Akure, saying health authorities had intensified surveillance, case management and contact tracing to contain the outbreak and identify the source of the suspected poisonous substance.
Medical teams have been deployed to affected communities to monitor patients, provide treatment and trace others who may have been exposed.
The state government is also working with security and regulatory agencies, including the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Department of State Services, DSS, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC.
Ajaka said the outbreak was discussed at a national meeting involving state commissioners for health and officials of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, NCDC, where Ondo’s surveillance, case management and contact-tracing efforts were reviewed.
The latest figures mark an increase from the 29 deaths and 121 affected persons previously recorded in Odigbo Local Government Area.
According to the commissioner, preliminary investigations linked the initial cases to the consumption of locally produced alcoholic and alcoholic-herbal substances at two naming ceremonies in the affected communities.
He said investigations indicated that an individual who was not a member of one of the families hosting a ceremony procured the substance and brought it to the event, where it was consumed by guests.
The affected communities earlier identified in Odigbo include New Town, Odole, Okele, Orita Odigbo, Araromi-Obu and Oniparaga.
As part of measures to halt further fatalities, the Ondo State Government has suspended the production and sale of locally brewed alcoholic and alcoholic-herbal beverages in Odigbo.
Police have also arrested a suspect in Araromi-Obu over the alleged production and distribution of the substances, while investigations continue to establish the full circumstances surrounding the outbreak and prevent further loss of lives.
