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20 Children Killed By Measles In Lagos State

February 23, 2016

The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Jide Idris, confirmed on Monday that measles was responsible for the death of twenty children in the Otodo-Gbame community in Lekki. Mr. Idris’s comments were made during a news conference in Lagos where he spoke with members of the media.

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Mr. Idris stated that State authorities were able to confirm measles as the cause of the children’s deaths after running laboratory tests at the Central Public Health Laboratory and the Lagos University Teaching Hospital.

He also confirmed that these children had not been immunized for measles because there has been “a mass emigration to Lagos from neighboring states; several new communities had emerged and settled in some rural far-to-reach areas in the State.” Many of these areas are informal settlements and “may not be a proper potable water supply for drinking and toilet facilities for urination and dedication.”

Mr. Idris told the media that State health authorities would monitor the situation closely and a community sensitization campaign on measles would be carried out for the public.

The measles outbreak began in January and caused many local residents to panic as children started contracting symptoms. Mr. Idris also stated that all thirty-four cases of measles treated by health workers have recovered.

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PUBLIC HEALTH