10 dead, hundreds hospitalised in Nigeria after drinking expired powdered drinks

The batches of some of the products show that the powdered sachets expired over a year ago.

CAPE TOWN, April 16 (ANA) – Ten people have died after drinking expired orange-flavoured powdered drinks in the northern Nigerian state of Kano, Nigerian authorities said on Friday.

Hundreds of others have been hospitalised after consuming the powdered sachets.

According to a report by the BBC, in a recorded video message to the public, Dr Aminu Ibrahim Tsanyawa, Kano state’s commissioner of health, said more than 400 people had now fallen sick after consuming expired or substandard sachets in recent weeks.

The batches of some of the products show that the powdered sachets expired over a year ago, according to local media.

The Kano commissioner of health said that among those hospitalised were 50 patients undergoing kidney-related treatment because of complications arising from consumption of the expired drinks, writes Republican Nigeria.

The publication went on to explain that the Consumer Protection Council has been investigating the incident, conducting searches in Kano markets and making seizures.

According to the Guardian Nigeria, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) recently released the result of an investigation into the killer drink and identified unauthorised poisonous additives as a major cause of the deaths.

According to various reports, patients’ symptoms have included vomiting, diarrhoea and blood in the urine. Some have also reported experiencing dizziness.

The BBC reports that authorities are also investigating whether contaminated water in the preparation of the drinks could be another factor.

– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher