A total of 17 people in Nigeria was killed by some unidentified diseases, recently. According to the officials in Ode-Irale, a southern Nigerian town, the patients all died within 24 hours after they felt ill. The dominant symptoms were a headache, weight loss, blurred vision, and loss of consciousness.
The Times of India: 'Mysterious' disease kills 17 in Nigeria: Official
There are no similar syndromes reported not only in Nigeria but also in any other regions. The WHO epidemiologists have arrived in Ode-Irale for the investigation. The blood and cerebrospinal fluid samples from the patients were extracted for the analysis.
Other than the infectious disease or toxic reaction cannot be considered to bring such an acute syndrome. One possibility is a new mutated bacteria, virus, or parasite with lethal power. The symptoms the patients experienced resemble acute encephalitis. Some kind of brain damage by the infectious disease does not accompany hyperthermia. However, weight loss cannot explain by acute infection. It is likely that the victims suffered from dehydration leading to weight change.
Another hypothesis is intoxication. Neural toxins can cause visual impairment with a headache. It is necessary what the victims took and where they visited are identified in detail.
The number of the victims is rather small, considering that a new threat of the outbreak has emerged. It is possible that more victims will be reported soon. I hope the investigation will advance rapidly to clarify the cause of this mysterious hazard.
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