Strange disease hits Ogun as commercial motorcyclists, scavengers affected

A strange disease suspected to be Gastroenteritis (stomach flu) has hit Magboro and Ofada area of Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State.

The Commissioner for Health, Ogun State, Dr Tomi Coker said the disease is spreading among okada riders and scavengers in the environment.

Gastroenteritis is an intestinal infection marked by watery diarrhoea, abdominal cramps, nausea or vomiting, and sometimes fever.

The disease is usually caused by contact with an infected person or by ingesting contaminated food or water.

Healthy people who have the disease may recover without complications. However, medical practitioners say it could be “deadly” for infants, older adults, and people with compromised immune systems.

Tomi Coker, while confirming the outbreak of gastroenteritis in a statement on Monday said the reported cases “were predominant among commercial motorcyclists and scavengers in the area.”

She explained that the index case was said to have recently returned from a trip outside Ogun and that she has been linked to the source of the outbreak.

The health commissioner said a public toilet was the channel of transmission, adding that the toilet has been sealed up for sanitation.

“The causative agent cannot be confirmed yet because appropriate sample could not be collected as there was no active case yet to commence antibiotics,” the Health Commissioner stated.

She disclosed that several people “are currently receiving treatment to control the number of casualties.”

The commissioner, however, blamed unregistered clinics being run by a quack as having contributed to the outbreak, regretting that cases were being managed unreported.

He added that the state government has set up a treatment centre at the Magboro-Akeran Health Centre, where curative items have been made available by the Department of Public Health.

Adjourning communities had been sensitised on what to do and where to seek care or report any suspicious cases, she said.