Strange disease kills 14 in Ondo

The Ondo State Commissioner for Health, Dr Dayo Adebanjo, on Thursday, disclosed that a strange disease has broken out in Ode-Irele in Irele Local Government Area of the state killing about 14 people while others are on danger list.

Adeyanju, who stated this on Thursday in Akure, the Ondo State capital while briefing journalists on the development, said the symptoms of the strange disease included headache and loss of sight.

The commissioner said the ministry had swung into action to curb the spread of the disease whose cause was still unknown, adding that blood samples from victims had been taken to a laboratory in Lagos for tests.

He also said about four other people affected by the disease in the town had been quarantined in a special ward within the General Hospital, Ode Irele.

The commissioner who confirmed that the disease was not related to the dreaded Ebola Virus, allayed the fear of the people about the spread of the disease.

He said the ministry had not verified whether the disease is contagious, even as he said the ministry had been working round the clock.

Dr Adebanjo said health personnel had been drafted to the local government area while some Personal Protective Equipment had been taken to the area.

Adeyanju said the press briefing became imperative to sensitise the people of the area and the state in particular to the spread of the disease, saying “the sensitisation becomes imperative to curtail the outbreak of the disease and to educate the people on how to guide against the spread.

“The presentation of the disease is bizarre and this was one of the reasons why the ministry is working round the clock to prevent the outbreak and I am assuring that we will get to the root within the next 24 or 48 hours.”

He explained that the disease usually affects the Central Nervous System while the person infected by the disease usually lose their sights and die few hours after losing the sight.

He said local and international health institutions, such as the World Health Organisation, Red Cross, were already on ground carrying out investigations into the root cause and treatment of the ailment.

He called on the people of the area to report any case of sudden death or illness to the officials of the ministry in the area.

He, however, advised the people of the area not to bury the remains of the affected victims within residential areas since the cause of the outbreak remained a mystery.

The state government also debunked the rumour doing the rounds that there was an outbreak of Ebola virus in the state following the death of some people in Irele Local Government Area.

However, a source within the community said the death has spiritual and diabolical undertone, saying those afflicted by the disease “have gone against the spirit of the land,” but Adeyanju said this could not be proved scientifically.

In a telephone interview with reporters, the community leader, Ayodele Omole, stated that the “strange ailment” broke out on Wednesday morning and had already created panic among residents, adding that many people were fleeing from the community.

Even though the source of the epidemic has not been determined, Mr Omole stated that many residents had blamed it on an “evil spiritual attack.”

“We noticed the strange ailment yesterday (Wednesday),” said Mr Omole. “Several people lost their sight before they died instantly.

“As at the last count, in the early hours of today (Thursday), more than 25 dead bodies were counted on the streets of Irele.

“Unlike yesterday, people are now scared of carrying the bodies because of fear of infections. Some residents have fled the community for Ore town while others are planning to leave for Akure for total safety.”

He stated that, in addition to causing blindness, the unknown disease also caused victims’ tongues to swell abnormally, rendering the victims incapable of speech, prior to death within a few hours.

Mr Omole said many in the community saw the ailment as having “a spiritual cause,” adding that they believed it was beyond the control of state health officials. He added that the residents were hoping that some traditional healers would quickly come in to help.

A young resident in the town said the gods in the community were angry because “some section of the shrine was recently destroyed and some sacred objects stolen by unknown people.”

He said some worshipers of the deity and traditional priests were meeting to discover those behind the theft.