Panic as strange disease hits Ondo, kills 14

At least 14 people were yesterday confirmed dead by Ondo State government following an outbreak of a strange disease in Ode-Irele in Irele Local Government Area of the state.
The state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Dayo Adeyanju, who disclosed this at a press conference in Akure, the state capital, stated that the strange disease, which was yet to be identified, broke out in the community on Wednesday.
The commissioner also disclosed that some victims of the strange disease were already in the danger list in various government hospitals in the state.
He identified headache and loss of sight as the major symptoms of the strange disease, stressing that the disease was not known to medical practitioners in the state yet.
He, however, explained that the state government had taken measures to prevent the spread of the disease to other parts of the state. He also  hinted that the  cause of the disease was not yet known.
Medical experts in the state, he said, had taken samples from the victims of the strange disease to Lagos for examination and diagnosis.
Adeyemi confirmed that four other people affected by the disease in the town had been quarantined in a special ward within the General Hospital in Ode-Irele.
The commissioner, who ruled out the dreaded Ebola
Virus Disease, allayed the fear of the people of the state on the
spread of the disease. He said
efforts were in top gear to curb its spread.
He said the state Ministry of Health has not verified whether or not
the disease was
contagious, but noted that the ministry will continue to do its best
to prevent the spread
of the unknown disease.
“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
you that we will get to the roots of the disease within the next 24 or
48 hours,” he stressed.
He explained further that the disease affects the Central Nervous
System, while the person
infected by the disease usually lose their sights and die few hours
after losing the sight.
The Commissioner said local and international health institutions,
such as World Health Organization, Red Cross Society and others are
already on ground carrying out investigations on the root cause and
treatment of the ailment.
He therefore called on the people of the area to report any case of
sudden death or
illness to the officials of the state Ministry of Health already
deployed to 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 remains a
mystery and to curb
against the spread.
Also, he warned the people against sensationalizing issues to avoid
creating tension among the people, urging the people to rely on the
information from the official sources to avoid creating panic among
them.