Regulator says early medical findings point to severe dehydration and shock, while laboratory testing of administered medicines continues.
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has opened an investigation into the death of a National Youth Service Corps member at the orientation camp in Awgu, Enugu State, following allegations that substandard medicines may have contributed to the incident.
In a statement signed by Director-General Mojisola Adeyeye, the agency said its officers had visited the camp clinic, interviewed health personnel and collected samples of medicines for laboratory analysis. It cautioned against treating allegations about falsified medicines as established findings.
NAFDAC said the corps member first attended the clinic on October 7 with symptoms considered suggestive of severe malaria and a history of peptic ulcer disease. He received treatment and was discharged the following morning with oral medication.
According to the agency’s account, he returned on October 10 complaining of thigh pain, but a medical assessment found dangerously low blood pressure. Staff administered intravenous fluids, and persistent hypotension and poor urine output led to an emergency referral to the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital.
NAFDAC said the patient became unconscious around the time of arrival and could not be revived. The agency reported that medical personnel suspected acute kidney injury associated with severe dehydration and shock. It also said information about prolonged vomiting emerged after the death.
The regulator stated that some of the medicines administered had been used for other patients without reported similar outcomes. That observation does not, by itself, establish the quality of the medicines or determine the cause of death. The investigation remains ongoing. A definitive conclusion would require the relevant clinical, laboratory and any post-mortem findings, none of which were provided in the supplied statement
