#OndoX: UN, WHO, NCDC Alerted About Deadly Disease In Ondo

The Ondo State Government is working hard to curtail the outbreak of an unknown disease in the Ode-Irele community of Ondo state, leading to the death of no fewer than 28 people in the past three days. 3 survivors reported.

The Federal Ministry of Health, the World Health Organisation, and the National Centre for Disease Control have also been alerted of the outbreak.

According to residents of the community,  the disease broke out three days ago, spreading rapidly around the community and killing its victim within 24 hours. Victims wake up blind and die within hours.

Since cause is still unknown, the disease has been tagged #OndoX. 

The disease which affects the central nervous system, shows neurologic clinical symptoms like blindness, headache and loss of consciousness before death.

Ebola Alert, an International group of volunteer professionals who helped with the Ebola Virus Disease interventions in the country, via their official Twitter handle, reported 28 people dead from the disease. However, the State Health Commissioner, Dayo Adeyanju, put the number of dead victims at 14.

Mr. Adeyanju, while briefing newsmen in Akure, said preliminary investigations showed that the disease is not Ebola “as it does not manifest any of its symptoms, but it attacks the central nervous system of the victims”.

He said the state government, after getting information on the disease, immediately deployed officials who took samples from victims which was sent to Lagos for laboratory analysis to help understand the nature of the disease.

Mr. Adeyanju, who warned against spreading false information on social media, said the government is on top of the situation, and advised people in the council area to report any strange illness to the nearest health facility.

He assured that the government is also doing its best to contain the disease from further spreading out of the town while those infected were being quarantined at the General Hospital, Irele, with other patients moved out of the facility.

The Health Commissioner also advised people of the area to avoid handling dead bodies at this period to help contain further spread of the disease.

Ondo State commissioner for information and strategy, Kayode Akinmade, also added that the 14 deaths recorded in Ode Irele, Ondo state, from the “strange” ailment are directly connected to an exhumed corpse in the community and that the 14 victims had personal contacts with those people who came to exhume the corpse that led to the epidemic.

Leaders of the community however believe there's a spiritual undertone to the outbreak,  claiming some people broke into a shrine, and the god became angry with them, striking all those people who have hands in the act. Rituals are already being carried out in the community to appease the gods.