QUEENS COLLEGE FOOD POISONING

Queen’s College, Lagos, has been shut down indefinitely after two students allegedly died of a waterborne disease, last February, and several others are still in hospital receiving treatment. The deceased students, Vivian Osuiniyi and Bithia Itulua, passed away after a severe bout of vomiting and stooling. They reportedly fell ill after they ate a meal of spaghetti and drank water in the school’s refectory. According to reports, no fewer than 50 pupils of the school were admitted in the school’s sickbay as a result of eating the contaminated meal. Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris, said that health records from the school’s sickbay indicated that a total of 1,222 pupils who presented themselves at the school’s clinic complained of abdominal pain, fever, vomiting and diarrhoea. Idris said the outbreak was as a result of the contaminated water used to prepare the students’ meals. Water samples collected from the school were analysed at the Drug Quality Control Laboratory of Lagos State Ministry of Health at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja and the Microbiology Department of LUTH, Idi-Araba. The results from the two laboratories showed a high bacterial content in the water samples. It is disheartening to note all that is ongoing in Queen’s College, Yaba. This used to be one of the quintessential schools for girls in Nigeria. It has among its old students elite in the society. Who is to blame for the rot? Is it the school’s management or the government? Why would they allow things deteriorate to the extent of losing lives? This is a clear indication that parents can no longer entrust the well-being of their wards to the school authorities. Imagine the pain and agony the families of the deceased students are feeling. This is a wake-up call to all concerned. We must not allow this incident to repeat itself. This scenario is not limited to Queen’s College alone. The government should look into the affairs of other unity colleges and find out what problems they are battling with. We don’t have to wait until more children begin to fall ill and die. This is a slap on the face of the government and it also shows the ineptitude of the school’s administrators. Why should they make children live in such unhygienic conditions? Those found culpable should be punished severely. Doing so would serve as a deterrent to others and make them more alive to their responsibilities. ***prbxselfnetwork***