In a news conference that took place on Saturday, the Ondo government announced a ban on the production and consumption of locally made gin also known as ‘ogogoro’.
The Commissioner for Health, Dayo Akinyanju reiterated this at the conference in Akure, Ondo state and attributed the ban to the outbreak of the strange epidemic which first started weeks ago in the Ode-Irele Local Government Area. We earlier reported that the FG had narrowed down the cause of the disease to the consumption of gin contaminated with methanol.
According to the Commissioner, “Our clinical analysis reveals the fact that there were no known viruses, while toxicology reports have confirmed our prime suspicion of methanol poisoning. We have reviewed our strategies and embarked on sensitisation to let people know that locally-made gin is prohibited. We will also embark on searches because this batch of methanol-containing gin must have gone round because 4 cases: 2 alive and 2 dead have been found in Odigbo Local Government Area.“
“We will start with the entire South Senatorial District, then move to the Central Senatorial District.”
He also stated that 10 other people are receiving treatment and two of them have regained their sights and are going back home. “We appeal to the general public to desist from drinking the gin until we are able to identify the source of contamination or find out how the methanol got into the drinks“, he added.
He closed by saying the state government is working with the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the National Orientation Agency to educate the public on the dangers of consuming such liquids.
Photo Credit: Dreamtime/ Pablo Caridad
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