The Federal Ministry of Health and World Health Organization, WHO, say that the consumption of contaminated alcohol (gin) is believed to be responsible for the outbreak of the strange disease that has claimed at least 18 lives in Ondo state.At a joint press conference on Monday morning, the Minister of State for Health, Mr Fidelis Nwankwo said the disease is not in anyway related to Ebola virus disease as was earlier speculated.
“Preliminary laboratory investigations indicates that the outbreak cannot be attributed to any infectious organism, bacterial or viral. The outbreak is also clearly not due to Ebola virus disease as feared by many at first. Epidemiological findings indicate a strong linkage of the outbreak to a consumption of a local gin that had been contaminated with methanol, a poisonous material. At this stage the particular poisonous substance is being ascertained. The results of this very detailed investigation currently been conducted by the government and our partners are still been awaited and will be made public as soon as possible”he said.
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