NCDC Links Sokoto Deaths To Heavy Metal Poisoning

Source: Leadership
Author: Patience Ivie Ihejirika

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has said preliminary findings on the recent mysterious deaths reported in Sokoto State may have been caused by heavy metal poisoning.

Director-general of the NCDC, Dr Jide Idris, who disclosed this during the inauguration of the National Genomics Surveillance Strategy Consortium in Abuja, however said investigation was still in progress.

He said: "Our findings indicate a clear presence of heavy metal poisoning in the affected individuals. We sent the blood samples to different laboratories and what we discovered so far are evidence of heavy metal poisoning in those two states. The fact is that more children would have been affected in Sokoto and Kebbi. We know it is heavy metal poisoning but we are still investigating because it could be a combination of other things."