Mysterious Disease Claims Lives of 14 in Small Nigerian Town
A deadly disease has reportedly taken the lives of 14 in a small Nigerian town as health officials scramble to identify the mystery sickness.
The disease is reportedly focused in the small village of Irele in the Ondo state, where victims complain of a headache, loss of sight and weight loss before succumbing to the mystery sickness.
Locals are reportedly avoiding touching the sick, as some fear that this new disease is as contagious as the Ebola virus that recently ravaged West Africa.
One resident, Mary Omogbehinla, told Nigeria's DailyPost that locals are questioning how the disease orgininated.
"We are worried. Our people are dying. We don't know this sickness. We are just done with elections and it's now this disease. Have we offended God? If we have, then we are seek forgiveness. God should forgive us. We can't touch those who have been killed. I have counted about 19, others said 14. God please, have mercy on us," Omogbehinla told the media outlet.
Irele's State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Dayo Adeyanju, has reportedly told local media outlets that health teams have already arrived in Irele in an attempt to control the disease. The disease was just discovered by government officials this week, and has reportedly been claiming lives for the past 10 days.
As the highly-contagious Ebola virus appears to be retreating in West Africa, U.S. President Barack Obama warned this week that international powers must be vigilant in repairing the health systems of West African nations to ensure another outbreak does not occur, focusing especially on Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea.
"We have to be vigilant, and the international community has to remain fully engaged in a partnership with these three countries until there are no cases of Ebola," the president said. "Health systems also have to be rebuilt to meet daily needs — vaccines for measles, delivering babies safely, treating H.I.V./AIDS and malaria."
