Unknown Disease In Nigeria Is Killing People In One Day

Fact checked
Unknown Disease In Nigeria

Nigeria is on high alert after what is being called a “mysterious” disease, which kills it’s victims within 24 hours has killed 18 people.  The unknown disease in Nigeria is causing panic because out of 23 diagnosed with it, 18 have died – that is a over a seventy percent death rate- 72.26% to be precise.

The disease has broken out in the village of Ode-Irele, Nigeria.  Yahoo! News reports:

A “mysterious” disease that kills patients within 24 hours has claimed at least 18 lives in a southeastern Nigerian town, the government said Saturday.

“Twenty-three people (were affected) and 18 deaths were recorded,” the Ondo state health commissioner, Dayo Adeyanju, told AFP.

The government spokesman for the state, Kayode Akinmade, earlier gave a toll of 17 dead.

“Seventeen people have died of the mysterious disease since it broke out early this week in Ode-Irele town,” Akinmade told AFP by telephone.

Unknown Disease In Nigeria_Screen Shot 2015-04-19 at 1.52.07 PM

The [unknown disease in Nigeria], whose symptoms include headache, weight loss, blurred vision and loss of consciousness, killed the victims within a day of falling ill, he said.

Laboratory tests have so far ruled out Ebola or any other virus, Akinmade said.

The World Health Organization meanwhile said it had information on 14 cases with at least 12 dead.

unknown disease in nigeria

“Common symptoms were sudden blurred vision, headache, loss of consciousness followed by death, occurring within 24 hours,” WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic told AFP by email, adding that an investigation was ongoing.

Another WHO spokesman, Gregory Hartl, told AFP that according to a preliminary report, all those affected [by the unknown disease in Nigeria] began showing symptoms between April 13 and 15.

Akinmade said health officials and experts from the government and aid agencies, as well as WHO epidemiologists, had arrived in Ode-Irele to search for answers.

The state’s health commissioner, Adeyanju, told AFP that he and his officials had gone on a “field visit with the WHO, UNICEF, NCDC (Nigerian Centre for Disease Control)”.

“This was basically a case search to unravel the cause (of the disease),” he said in a text message.

The WHO’s Jasarevic said blood and urine samples had been taken from two victims and cerebrospinal fluid from another.

“All samples have been sent to Lagos University Teaching Hospital this morning, and results are still pending. Investigations are still ongoing,” he said.

What do you think the unknown disease in Nigeria is and do you think it is something that we should fear or something that will hopefully end as quickly as it started?

Royce Christyn

Royce Christyn

Journalist at News Punch
Documentarian, Writer, Producer, Director, Author.
Royce Christyn

1 Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.