Cholera Outbreak Strikes Kirikiri Prison in Lagos, Inmates, Staff at Risk

Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Akin Abayomi, has reported an outbreak of cholera at Kirikiri Medium Security Prison, confirming 25 cases of severe gastroenteritis linked to the disease. Tunbosun Ogunbanwo, the spokesperson for the Lagos State Ministry of Health, quoted the Commissioner in a statement on Sunday, saying that urgent interventions have been implemented at the prison.

According to the statement, no new cholera-related deaths have been reported in the past 72 hours, and the state government is intensifying efforts to contain the outbreak. The statement reads, “A small outbreak of 25 cases of severe gastroenteritis occurred at Kirikiri Medium Security Prison, confirmed to be caused by cholera. Urgent medical and environmental intervention measures have been implemented successfully.”

The commissioner noted ongoing low-grade community transmission, despite the decrease in new daily cases and fatalities in the state. He urged the public to adhere to safety measures and seek prompt medical attention if symptoms develop.

“We have supplied Kirikiri Medium Prison with intravenous fluids, infection prevention, and other health consumables,” Abayomi said. “Additionally, the World Health Organization has donated 10,000 doses of pharmaceuticals, which have been delivered to the prison to support prison health facilities with prevention strategies for about 3,200 inmates if required.”

Immediate water and sanitation issues have been corrected, and inspections of other correctional facilities in the state are ongoing. Abayomi stated that the outbreak stemmed from unregulated street beverages and contaminated water sources. Samples taken from popular street beverages, acquired by undercover environmental officers, indicated the presence of Vibrio cholerae bacteria, the causative agent of cholera.

“All of the containers had no NAFDAC accreditation numbers, indicating they are small cottage backyard informal production units,” he said. “Identifying the precise location of manufacture has proven difficult, and the Directorate of Environmental Health is planning to seal any such unregulated manufacture and make arrests of anybody involved with the manufacture or distribution of beverages without NAFDAC numbers.”