… 13 still unconscious
By Damian Duruiheoma, Owerri
The Imo State government has confirmed the death of a 60-year-old woman and four other persons at Umunakara-Imerienwe in Ngor-Okpala Local Government Area of the state, after consuming locally brewed gin known as ‘Kai-Kai’ or Ogogoro believed to contain poisonous ethanol.
The sleepy village was jolted last weekend following the reported death of Madam Adanna Iheanacho, 60 and four other persons with about 13 others said to be lying critically ill in various hospitals after drinking the toxic local brew, kai-kai imported into the community from the nearby Rivers State by a native of Umunakara, Uwadiegu Eze.
Confirming the deaths, the Director for Public Health in the state Ministry of Health, who equally doubles as the Director of the Ministry’s Centre for Disease Control, Dr. Okeji A.C said the ministry had swung into action by doing everything possible to reduce mortality rate that might have arisen as a result of the incident by sending a team of experts headed by him.
The names of the deceased as released by the community included Daniel Nwosu Jnr (male, 45 years), native of Umunakara-Imerienwe, who died on 18th November at St Augustine’s Hospital Ulakwo; Friday Osuji (male, 70 years) native of Amafo-Imerienwe who died on 17th November at home and Ifeanyi Njoku (male, 31 years) of Umuowa-Imerienwe who died 18th November at home.
The rest are Benjamin Okoroafor (male) of Umunam-Imerienwe who died on 18th November at St Augustine’s Hospital Ulakwo and Madam Adanna Iheanacho (female, 60 years) who died on 17th November at home.
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According to the chairman of Umunakara, Mr. Livinus Igbo, trouble started when residents who patronised the local gin shop beginning from Tuesday 14th of November all through the weekend of Friday 17th, started experiencing stiffness of the body, partial blindness and death.
“As I speak to you, five persons have been confirmed dead. We are going to the hospital to attend to those who are lying critically ill. We thank the prompt response of the state government,” Igbo said.
It was learnt that the victims, especially the deceased, started experiencing headaches, abdominal discomforts, blindness and eventual death. When the medical evacuation ambulance of the ministry of health arrived the community on Saturday, several male youths believed to be from Umunakara and other adjoining villages, who drank the local gin queued up in their numbers waiting and hoping to be attended to or taken to Owerri.
The director, who expressed surprise by the number of potential victims, noted that majority of them were not affected because of the high quantity of methanol-laden white kai-kai taken by the deceased and the peculiarity of their human anatomy, which may have been otherwise different from those of the survivors.
However, a good number of them who complained of experiencing one symptom or the other relating to methanol poisoning were told by Okeji that while it may be impossible to take every one who drank the gin back to the state specialist hospital, arrangements have been made with the head nurse of the Umunakara Primary Health Centre, to be a first responder to any new case that may arise before the ministry’s arrival at no cost to the victim.
He, however, took four victims whose symptoms seemed to become worse back to Owerri for further checks. Meanwhile, eight other victims were Saturday rushed to a private clinic, Uchenna Hospital, off Egbu Road Owerri.
When contacted, the Chief Medical Consultant, Dr. Ezimefula Andrew, revealed on phone that of the eight victims transferred from St Augustine’s Hospital, Ulakwo, one of them was already blind in both eyes while the others are in several stages of manifesting symptoms of methanol poisoning.
Speaking on the way forward, Okeji disclosed that the ministry will be on top of the situation to forestall any further mortality while a post-mortem would be carried out on the deceased to help them during their medical investigations.
He, however, lamented that despite the several episodes of methanol poisoning arising from consumption of local gin in various parts of the country, people still patronise distillers who use methanol to boost production of the gin to make abnormal profits.
Meanwhile, the shop owner was said to have absconded from the community after finding out that the consumers of his product were dying.
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