Nigeria
warns over mystery disease which has left 15 dead and infected dozens
more
Illness
causes vomiting, swelling and diarrhoea, government says
9 February, 2020
The
Nigerian government has warned of a “strange epidemic” which has
left 15 people dead and infected dozens more in less than a week.
The
outbreak of the mysterious disease, which causes vomiting, swelling
and diarrhoea, was first recorded late last month in Benue State,
southeast of the capital Abuja.
By
3 February, “the number of persons affected with the strange
endemic has risen to 104”, said Nigerian senator Abba Moro,
according to newspaper the Daily Post.
In
a Senate resolution, Mr Moro, who represents a district in Benue
State, named a number of victims of the disease, who all allegedly
died within 48 hours of contracting the illness.
The
resolution urged the country’s health ministry to dispatch experts
to the centre of the outbreak to find out more about the disease.
It
also called for the Nigeria Centres for Disease Control (NCDC) to
establish surveillance measures to contain its spread, the Post
reported.
Osagie
Ehanire, the health minister, said in a briefing on Friday the
illness did not appear to be Ebola or Lassa fever – two potentially
fatal viruses which occur in West Africa.
Nigeria’s
hate speech and social media bills aren’t what they seem
Nor
did it appear to be the 2019 novel coronavirus, which originated in
Wuhan China and has so far killed more than 700 people.
Mr
Ehanire said the NCDC had now activated an emergency response
operation in the affected area – with government officials
suspecting chemicals used in fishing may be responsible for the
sickness, according to the BBC.
He
advised Nigerians who may have witnessed cases of the illness to
contact the agency for free using the number 0800-970000-10.
The
NCDC has been contacted for comment.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.