Awka – Over two weeks after the incident, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has finally confirmed the cause of a deadly strange illness in the northern city of Kano.
The Agency last night, revealed that a harmful chemical sold as Citric Acid, also known as Dan Tsami was the source of the illness.
So far, at least four persons have died while over 300 person have been hospitalized as a result of the strange illness.
The victims were from six villages under the Rogo local government area of Kano state, located 136 kilometers from the city.
They were said to have common signs including fever, passing excessive blood urine and vomiting.
The Director General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye in a briefing last night, shortly after having an audience with the Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje at the State Government House, revealed that the chemical was allegedly smuggled into the country through unknown sources and the local vendors were eventually selling it at N3, 000 as against the N30,000 market value of such product.
“We found out that the chemical that is supposed to be Dan Tsami that is used to make the drink, was not what was used. It was a poison that led to the death of the persons and hospitalization of over 300 person.
“From what we were told, something that was supposed to be sold for #30,000, was sold for #3,000,” she said.
The NAFDAC boss added that out of the five sampled products, three were not registered with the agency.
“Three of the flavoured drinks were not registered with NAFDAC. Only two of them were registered,” Adeyeye noted.
She however promised that a full report of the test results will be announced as soon as the ongoing investigation is concluded.
