The Lagos state government has recommended the closing down of Queen’s College, Yaba, to enable a proper treatment of the water system in the school.
A recent diarrhoea outbreak in the school had led to the deaths of students and hospitalisation of many.
While addressing a press conference on Thursday, the commissioner for health, Jide Idris, said a total of 1,222 students complained of abdominal pain, fever, vomiting and diarrhoea at the school’s clinic.
Idris said water samples taken from six sources in the school were analysed at the drug quality control laboratory of the Lagos state ministry of health in the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja.
He said that samples taken from water sources in the school showed that the water was polluted.
He said out of the 16 pupils admitted in various hospitals, nine had been discharged, two were dead, while four were on admission at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, and Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi Araba.
“Other water samples from 10 sources were also collected and analysed at the Microbiology Department of LUTH, Idi-Araba. The results from the two laboratories showed high bacterial content in the water samples from the kitchen behind the dining hall and Queen’s Delight, the school’s water factory. The bacteria range from Coliforms, Escherichia Coli, Salmonella, Klebsiella ozoana and Aeromonas hydrophila.
“Specimens collected from 40 kitchen workers revealed that cysts of Entamoeba histolytica were isolated in the stool of 23 food handlers; Salmonella Paratyphi, the causative agent of Typhoid Fever, was also isolated from three food handlers.
“All these together imply a common source outbreak, showing repeated or continuous infection from exposure to the infectious agent. Findings from the investigations were consistent with Enteric Fever. The infection was most likely spread through contaminated water sources and infection by food handlers.”
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It seems that Queens College has been remiss in providing its students a safe learning environment, however, this closure should be taken as an opportunity to improve its facilities, particularly with such definitive proof that their water system is contaminated. It is alarming that there is a significant number of educational institutions around the world that take for granted water contamination issues. This, along with other academic institutions around the world who face similar issues, is a wake up call to prioritize water pollution around the globe.