At least two of the 25 students of Ogba Junior
Grammar School hospitalised last Thursday for
inhaling poisonous fumes from a photo laboratory
close to their school are said to be battling for life at
the emergency ward of Lagos State University
Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, Ikeja. According to reliable hospital sources, the students
— Gbolahan Lawal and another, a female — are
however said to be under close watch by doctors
who believe they have good chances of recovering. Gbolahan’s mother, Mrs. Isiwatu Lawal, who spoke
to Vanguard said: “It was one of his friends who
told me what happened in their school while I was
waiting for him to return. This is because he wasn’t
sick before leaving home. “When I inquired from his friends, they said the
chemical released by a photo laboratory behind
their school affected all the pupils including him.
While some of the pupils affected were rolling,
clutching their stomach and screaming, he didn’t. “So on his way home, he slumped on Ogba Road. It
was bystanders who came to his rescue. They took
him to a hospital where first aid was administered
on him, before he was transferred to LASUTH,
Ikeja.” She noted that her son complained of chest pain
earlier and began vomiting the following day. “At
present, he is about receiving another drip. But the
doctors have assured us that he will be stable in
few hours. She stated that Gbolahan was the only male among
the five students critically affected by the chemical,
adding, “he is the only one in his ward. I don’t
know where others are.” Meantime, Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr.
Jide Idris has said that there have not been any
new cases of confirmed cholera in the state aside
the three earlier confirmed cases reported since the
detection of the epidemic prone disease.
Idris who disclosed this, weekend, while speaking on efforts to curb the spread of the disease, noted
that not all diarrheoa cases were cholera, stressing
that various organs of government had been
working assiduously since the detection of the
disease in some parts of the state to contain the
spread. According to him: “Following the notice alerting the
public to the cases of cholera in some parts of the
state, various organs of the government like the
Ministry of Health, Information and Strategy,
Environment, Water Corporation, Waste Water
Management Office, Rural Development and Water Regulatory Agency have risen to the occasion, and
have been working tirelessly to contain the spread.
Since that time, we have not recorded any new
cases of confirmed cholera. ”www.vanguardngr.com/2013/11/poison-gas-doctors-battle-save-pupil/