Conference Abstract | Volume 9 (ConfProc7): Abstract 090 | Published: 06 Oct 2026
Dèlphine Kokou1,2,&, Potobawi Alfa1, Pirenam Kpaikpai3, Justine Sanni3, Essotolom Badjabaissi3, Pana Kedeyi3, Adodo Sadji3, Afi Azon3, Norbert Mondjro1,2, Koffi Akolly1,2, Wemboo Halatoko3, Christelle Nikiema4, Didier Ekouevi1,2
1West Africa Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program (WA-FELTP), Lomé, Togo, 2Centre de Formation et de Recherche en Santé Publique (CFRSP), Lomé, Togo, 3Institut National d’Hygiène (INH), Lomé, Togo, 4Division de la Surveillance Intégrée des Urgences Sanitaire et de la Riposte (DSIUSR), Lomé, Togo
&Corresponding author:Dèlphine A. Kokou; West Africa Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program (WA-FELTP), Lomé, Togo Email: kadelpha91@gmail.com
Received: 29 Aug 2025, Accepted: 28 Oct 2025, Published: 06 Oct 2026
Domain: Infectious Disease Epidemiology
This is part of the Proceedings of the 8th Ghana FELTP Scientific Conference and FELTP Competency Graduation, Accra, Ghana, 10 – 11 December, 2025
Keywords: investigation, unusual mortality, Oreochromis niloticus, Togo
©Dèlphine Kokou et al. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health (ISSN: 2664-2824). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Cite this article: Dèlphine Kokou et al. Occurrence of unusual fish mortality in the Todman rainwater retention basin in the Golfe District, Togo, in May 2025. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health. 2026;9(ConfProc7):090. https://doi.org/10.37432/JIEPH-CONFPRO7-0090
A cross-sectional study was conducted from May 3 to 9, 2025 around the rainwater retention basin. A case of “unusual fish mortality” was defined as a sudden and unexplained increase in fish deaths in a given water body, exceeding the normal or expected mortality for that period and location. Data on water use and recent health problems were collected from ten households living near the basin. Water and fish samples were collected for physical-chemical, microbiological, and toxicological analysis by the National Institute of Hygiene. Laboratory results were interpreted using the national reference values for fish waters.
Nearly four tons of wild tilapia fish (Oreochromis niloticus) were affected. No consumption of dead fish or cases of clinical symptoms were reported during the investigation. Both water samples analyzed were cloudy (turbidity: 44.2 and 44.8 NTU; ref. ≤5), highly colored (color: 154 and 165 mg Pt-Co/L; ref. <20), and slightly acidic (pH: 6.2 and 6.5; ref. 6.5-9.5). Iron level was above the standard (0.11 and 0.13 µg/L; ref. ≤0.002). The water and the dead fish were also heavily contaminated with Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. Toxicological analyses revealed no traces of toxic organic substances. The dead fish were removed from the water’s surface and safely destroyed by incineration. The population has been made aware of the health risks of eating dead fish.
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