The Alleged Unknown Disease That Killed 62 People In Kogi State Finally Revealed

The Kogi State Commissioner for Health, Saka Audu , on Sunday said that the alleged unknown disease has been diagnosed to be gastroenteritis .
He , therefore, called for calmness .
The commissioner told the News Agency of Nigeria in Lokoja that those so far diagnosed were found to be suffering from gastroenteritis and malaria .
The state Ministry of Health, had in a statement , said that the disease killed many people in Okunran , Okoloke and Isanlu- Esa in Yagba West Local Government Area .
“ 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.
“ 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 , ” Audu said .
He also stressed that the disease was not Lassa fever , saying the result of samples taken from the patients to Irua General Hospital in Edo State for investigation proved negative .
On the 62 persons earlier reported to have died , the commissioner said the figure was given by local leaders in the affected areas and was yet to be verified by government.
“ We will investigate and trace the dead people to the grave yard and come up with the correct figure.
“ We want to assure the general public that government is doing all that is humanly possible to stay on top of the situation and forestall further loss of lives .
“ We will continue to inform the public as the investigation progresses, ” Mr . Audu said .
( NAN )