The government of Sokoto state in northwestern Nigeria has said it has ordered investigations into the deaths of seven members of a family in a rural community in the state.
The state health ministry said the deceased reportedly died after eating food made from cassava.
The government said samples of the food, kitchen utensils and ingredients have been collected and sent to the state office of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for onward transfer to the regulatory agency's laboratory in Kaduna State for analysis.
State Epidemiologist Nuhu Dogodaji revealed this to Newslodgeover the phone on Monday.
Mr Dogodaji said the ministry also took blood samples from household members who ate the food but did not experience food poisoning and will transfer them to the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
“We have collected all the samples we need to do a test. We took blood samples from family members who were alive. We took a piece of soup, which was already dry when we did it. We took the pot and the spoon. We also went to a farm where they plucked the leaves and took some for testing,” he said.
Background story
Newslodgelearnt that the family suffered food poisoning after eating Dambu and Lalo, a local dish made from cassava and vegetables, for dinner.
Article page with promotion of financial support
Confirming the incident, the Ministry's information officer, Nura Bello, said the cassava used to prepare the meal was bought in bulk and shared among four households who consumed it but did not suffer the same fate.
He said that after the incident, the ministry visited the village to assess the cause of the incident and report it to the state government for necessary action.
Health Commissioner Asabe Balarabe had asked for samples from a teenager who was alive after eating the suspicious food.
On this, Mr Dogodaji told Newslodgethat the family started falling ill a few hours after eating, and before dawn the next day, the mother, Aishatu Abubakar, and a child had died.
According to reports, the children who survived the night were rushed to a nearby primary health care centre while the father was taken to the Sokoto Teaching Hospital. However, they did not respond to medical treatment and died on the hospital bed.
“Out of a family of 12, only five are currently alive. The father, mother and five children died as a result of the poisoning. They began to feel discomfort around 7 pm and the first child died three hours later.
“The mother died at 5 a.m. the next day and the rest died in health centers because they did not respond to treatment,” he added.
Mr Dogodaji also said preliminary findings showed the contamination came from ingredients used to prepare Lalo vegetable soup and not from cassava as previously suggested.
He said three other family members who consumed the same cassava but with different soups were not affected by the poisoning.