The Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the University College Hospital (UCH) in Ibadan, Prof Temitope Alonge, has said the strange ailment that broke out in Ode-Irele, Ondo State, was caused by high consumption of methanol.
Prof Alonge, who spoke at a briefing yesterday, said on April 18, a consultant pathologist in the Ministry of Health, Dr Osasan, sought the hospital’s assistance in the management of five blind patients, who survived the Ode-Irele neurotoxicity saga.
“We agreed to care for the patients but requested the samples of the local gin they consumed with their blood and urine samples. I contacted the consultant neurologist, Dr Steve Oluwole, for a comprehensive evaluation of the patients.
“The clinical pharmacologist, laboratory scientist agreed to carry out researches on the cause of the illness.
“They worked tirelessly for almost two weeks to confirm the likely cause of the neurotoxicity exemplified by sudden blindness and correlate their findings with the toxicants in the blood, urine and local gin samples.
“This was a display of the excellent working relationship between clinical medicine and laboratory medicine.”
He confirmed that two of the five victims have recuperated, while others are recovering steadily.
Confirming the cause of the disease, the Laboratory Physician, Prof Segun Ademowo, said they collected urine samples from three patients and some of the gin they consumed.
“We discovered that there was high concentration of methanol in the gin beyond what the body can stand. It was up to 0.1 per cent to 12.5 per cent and ordinarily it should not be more than zero per cent in any alcoholic drink. Nigerians need to watch what they take and consume,” he said.
One of the survivors, Olorunwa Jero, said he was brought to the UCH blind.
“After the intensive care I received here, I was able to see. I was carried from one ward to another on a wheel chair but I can now walk without assistance.
“I’m grateful to the UCH management. My colleagues can now see but they have not fully recovered but at least they are better than before.”