Infectious Disease Outbreak Kills Over 25 In Ondo, Health Officials Claim It Is Not Ebola

An outbreak of a strange ailment has claimed
more than twenty five lives in Ode Irele in Irele
local government area of Ondo State,
In a telephone interview with our correspondent,
the community leader, Ayodele Omole, stated
that the “strange ailment” broke out on
Wednesday morning and had already created
panic among residents, adding that many people
were fleeing from the community. In a radio
broadcast, the Ondo State Commissioner for
Health, Dayo Adeyanju, confirmed the outbreak,
but assured residents that it was not Ebola.
Even though the source of the epidemic has not
been determined, Mr. Omole stated that many
residents had blamed it on an “evil spiritual
attack.”
“We noticed the strange ailment yesterday
(Wednesday),” said Mr. Omole. “Several people
lost their sight before they died instantly.
“As at the last count, in the early hours of today
(Thursday), more than 25 dead bodies were
counted in the streets of Irele.
“Unlike yesterday, people are now scared of
carrying the bodies because of fear of infections.
Some residents have fled the community for Ore
town while others are planning to leave for Akure
for total safety.”
He stated that, in addition causing blindness, the
unknown disease also caused victims’ tongues to
swell abnormally, rendering the victims incapable
of speech, prior to death within a few hours.
Mr. Omole said many in the community saw the
ailment as having “a spiritual cause,” adding that
they believed it was beyond the control of state
health officials. He added that the residents were
hoping that some traditional healers would
quickly come in to help.
A young resident in the town said the gods in the
community were angry because “some section of
the shrine was recently destroyed and some
sacred objects stolen by unknown people.” He
said some worshipers of the deity and traditional
priests were meeting to discover those behind
the theft.
Meanwhile, the state government has confirmed
the outbreak of the “unknown disease,” adding
that it was on top of the situation.
In a broadcast on a state-owned radio station in
Akure, the state capital, the Ondo State
Commissioner for Health, Mr. Adeyanju, said the
ravaging disease was not Ebola as some feared.
The commissioner stated that health officials
and equipment had been deployed to the
community to curtail the spread of the strange
disease.
“The community outbreak team informed us
yesterday morning of disease outbreak in
Irele. The unknown disease isn’t Ebola as it
doesn’t manifest any of its symptoms, but only
attacks the central nervous system of the
victims.
“We can’t really say what is responsible for this
ailment. It was clear that those who had died
had no symptoms of vomiting or diarrhea,” said
Mr. Adeyanju, adding that the symptoms of the
ailment included headaches and loss of sight
prior to death.
“The disease has been spread to the whole town
and it has been very difficult to trace it to a
particular source because it had already spread
across the whole local government of Irele,” he
said.
The health commissioner disclosed that
investigations had commenced to determine the
cause and source of the strange epidemic
stressing that blood samples from some victims
have been taken to a laboratory in Lagos for
tests.
UPDATE: The epidemic has claimed two more