The Lagos State Ministry of Health has begun investigation into allegations of an air borne flu-like disease at Queen’s College, Yaba, Lagos.
However, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education (FME), Mr. Sonny Echono, said there is no recurrence of food and water bacterial disease which claimed the lives of three pupils in 2017.
Echono and a team from the Lagos State Ministry of Health visited the school on Tuesday to investigate claims of an epidemic outbreak.
Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi Abayomi, said in a statement by Tunbosun Ogunbanwo, Director, Public Affairs, Lagos State Ministry of Health, that the state had assembled an investigative team.
It comprises officials of State Epidemiology Team and the Primary Health Care Services and Environmental Health Department of Lagos Mainland Local Government.
They are to unravel the cause of the flu-like disease, which he said was worth investigating considering the number of pupils affected.
Based on preliminary reports of the investigations conducted by the team, Abayomi said it had identified what appears to be a sporadic increase in upper respiratory tract infections characterised by cough, catarrh, fever and weakness across some schools.
The Commissioner noted that the incidences were not an outbreak of any sort but excess number of cases that needed to be investigated.
He said: “The team has since visited Queen’s College and investigations are ongoing. Findings according to the review of health records in the school sick bay revealed that 89 students presented to the clinic with Influenza like illnesses.”
Abayomi noted that nasal swab samples will be collected from pupils for confirmation of the cause of the illness.
He said: “As we await comprehensive report of the investigation being conducted, I would like to appeal to stakeholders of Queen’s College, other affected schools and residents of Lagos State to remain calm and ensure strict adherence to personal and environmental hygiene at all times.
“I assure you that the situation is under control and seems to be subsiding. We will give necessary updates as the assessment and investigation progresses.”
He advised parents not to send their wards to school if they have symptoms of cold or flu.
Abayomi continued: “To parents, please do not send your children to school if they have features of an upper respiratory tract infection such as a cold or flu like symptoms but rather have your doctor review them.”
Echono told the News Agency Nigeria (NAN) that there was no epidemic in the school.
He said: “I want to say that all such reports going round about outbreak of epidemic in Queen’s College are total falsehood.
“As I am speaking with you, I just left that school about one hour ago and on my way back to the airport en-route Abuja.
“I chose to dash down to Lagos to see things for myself, because such stories are damaging.
“On getting to the college, I went straight to the sick bay. Yes I saw a few students being attended to on account of flu and malaria.
“I spoke with the nurse at length, spoke with the doctor, the principal and some other persons. Wwhat I discovered is that the students were majorly having flu and malaria, nothing more.
“I was equally conducted round the college to do some inspection and based on this, I can confidently tell you that there is nothing like epidemic.”
When our reporter visited the college yesterday, the security men denied him access.
The reporter was told that the Principal, Mrs Oyinloye Yakubu, was not around because of the holiday.
Some parents said they came to pick their children y for treatment.
One of the pupils said she was suffering from fever; another said she was vomiting, but had received treatment.
A parent alleged that many pupils took ill, but that the cause had not been ascertained.
She said: “A whole lot of these girls are ill. Many of them were in the sick bay. But nobody can pinpoint the exact cause of their illness.”
Another parent who had come to pick his daughter dismissed the news with a wave of the hand. He noted that there was nothing like infection-breakout in the school.
Most of the students who came in tendered a doctor’s report at the security post before being allowed in.
A particular girl whose slip did not bear the doctor’s report was told to go back home by security operatives.
The Principal answer her calls on Sunday, as they rang out.
She did not return the calls, nor did she respond to a text message sent to her as at press time.