A strange disease has reportedly
killed not less than 40 people in Igbo-Eze north local government area of Enugu
state.
Three residents said on
Thursday that the deaths were recorded from across three communities — Umuokpu,
Ete and Ogwurugwu — in the last one month.
It is not immediately clear the
cause of the deaths but the residents said victims were mostly youth and
reported weakness, fever and headache before passing on.
TheCable reports that an official at the local
government, who pleaded anonymity, as he is not authorised to talk to the
media revealed they had just received reports of strange deaths from the
communities but added that the cause is not known yet.
‘THEY BECOME WEAK AND SUDDENLY
DIE’
Onoja Boniface, a resident of Umuokpu, disclosed via phone that at least five people have died from the community while Ete, where the development started, has recorded “more than 40 deaths.”
He said: “It started more than a
month ago from Uni Ete, a village in Ete which has common boundary with
Umuokpu. There were deaths of youths who might just have headache and before
you rush them to hospital, they have died. Sometimes they vomit and die.
“Three days ago, in Ogwurugwu, a
young man in the night complained of fever and before he was taken to the
hospital, he stopped talking and the next thing, he died. Most of them are
reporting fever, headache and weakness.
“My friend in Igogoro also told me
about a lady who left Umuokpu and on reaching Igogoro, she started developing
symptoms the same day and died.”
He added that there are rare
cases of two people dying from the same community as “those dying are from
different areas.”
Solomon Onu, a resident and
convener of Concerned Igbo-Eze North Youths (CINY), also said that the
communities had suspected a deity when the deaths began but now fear the
existence of an unknown disease.
“Why people are raising now and
not since is because we were initially attributing it to a deity but now, it
has transferred to Umuokpu which has a border with Ete,” he said.
“We are suspecting some kind of
diseases because with the way they are dying, it has come from Ete and Umuokpu
and both have the same border while another.”
In a statement earlier issued on
Wednesday, CINY lamented that health authorities “have not taken control of the
situation as at the moment.”
“We, therefore seize this
opportunity to urgently call on Igbo-Eze North Supervisory Councillor for
Health, the Executive Chairman and Enugu State Ministry of Health to come to
the rescue of our people whose lives are being threatened, to stem the spread
before further deaths ensue,” the statement read.
When Obioma Ogiri, the LGA public relations officer was contacted she said she was busy and could not comment on the situation.
A message was later sent to her
but no response yet.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease
Control (NCDC) is yet to respond to questions about the strange disease.
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