Collins Agwam The Nasarawa State Government has deployed health workers following the death of five children within 24 hours in the Gidinye community of Obi Local Government Area of Nasarawa State. Gidinye, one of the communities in the Jenkwe Development Area of the local government area, houses thousands of able-bodied men and women including children. Findings by PUNCH Metro on Wednesday revealed that the children, who were between the ages of five and 15, died after complaining of stomach aches, vomiting, and purging on Monday and Tuesday.
Confirming the incident in Lafia on Wednesday, the State Epidemiologist, Dr Grace Tsakpa, said healthcare workers had been deployed to the community to take samples of the surviving family members. While noting that the results from the samples collected had yet to be released, Tsakpa explained that from her observations, the cause of their deaths could be related to food poisoning because the ailments started immediately after they finished eating their meal on the farm. She said, “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. “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 sy.