Lydia Ezekiel, a 22-year-old student of Ipere College of Education, Agyaragu, has died following an outbreak of a strange disease in Gindiye community, Jenkwe Development Area in Nasarawa State.
This is coming hours after five children between the ages of five, six, seven, and 15, died after complaining of stomach aches, vomiting, and purging on Monday and Tuesday in the community.
Lydia died on Thursday morning, August 8, at the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital.
A community leader, Samuel Akala who confirmed the alarming situation, said a farmer, Ezekiel Agidi lost three children while another, Baba, lost two.
Akala, the Publicity Secretary of Migili Youth Association, MYA, revealed that the deceased children belong to the same maternal grandmother.
Meanwhile, the State Government has deployed health workers to the community following the earlier death of the five children, Punch reported.
The State Epidemiologist, Dr Grace Tsakpa, who disclosed this said they were deployed to the community to take samples of the surviving family members.
“For now, we have taken samples from the other family members, but our suspicion is going towards food poisoning. This is because the incident happened after they ate food at the farm,” Tsakpa said.
“The five children belong to two brothers. The family (parents and children) went to the farm, cooked there, and ate. It was on the farm that one of the children started complaining of abdominal pains, and he later died. The other four children also died after developing symptoms.”
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