The Kogi state government has identified the mysterious disease which was earlier speculated to be Lassa Fever
Gastroenteritis.
According to health experts, Gastroenteritis also known as infectious diarrhea, is inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract that involves the stomach and small intestine.
Signs and symptoms include: some combination of diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Fever, lack of energy, and dehydration may also occur.
That’s the disease reported to have killed not less than 62 persons in Kogi state.
The State’s commissioner of health, Dr. Saka Audu, said this while speaking to residents of Okunran, Okoloke and Isanlu-Esa in Yagba West Local Government Area.
He said: “The current information available to us is that the disease actually started six weeks ago in Okoloke village in Yagba West, which is a settlement that is predominantly inhabited by Fulani herdsmen.”
Also Read: Strange Disease: Kogi Govt Denies Claims That 62 People Died
He further added: “There have been cases of reported deaths following abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhoea, but the patients who showed signs of illness had since been evacuated and transported to Kogi State Specialist Hospital Lokoja, for better treatment.
“So far, we have evacuated 39 patients from Okoloke area and only six of them were admitted and have shown significant sign of improvement while others have since been discharged.”
“Out of the six that were admitted, three of them were diagnosed of gastroenteritis and the remaining three were just cases of malaria, and they have shown remarkable signs of improvement.”
The state’s health commissioner further stressed that the disease was not Lassa fever as earlier speculated adding that the test samples were taken from patients to Irua General Hospital for investigation proved negative.
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