Mysterious Disease Kills 60 in Nigeria

At least 62 people are confirmed dead by a yet-to-be-diagnosed disease, Saka Yusuf, Health Commissioner in Nigeria’s north central Kogi state has said.

Authorities said laboratory tests were conducted at tertiary health institutions to ascertain the exact cause of the deaths across some communities in the state.

Preliminary laboratory tests of samples from the affected areas tested negative for lassa fever -- a disease whose symptoms include high fever, swelling and bleeding, Anadolu News Agency reported.

“On arrival at the community, we interacted with the locals and samples were taken from their water sources and food supply. It was found that the people affected by the disease have common symptoms including abdominal pain, vomiting and stooling,” he said.

The official said that those found to be affected by the disease were transferred to Kogi State Specialist Hospital, where an empirical diagnosis of food poisoning to rule out gastroenteritis was made. “They are, however, responding well to the instituted line of treatment,” he said.