10 Fresh Facts About The Strange Disease In Ondo [MUST READ]

Last week, reports of a mysterious disease killing
people in Ondo state surfaced.

Those affected by the disease were said to have passed away within one day after developing the symptoms.
The strange disease has so far killed 17 people since its outbreak on April 13 in Ode-Irele, Irele local government area of the state.

There have been 20 reported cases and 3 people are said to still be alive and are being manged conservatively.

Below is what you need to know about this strange disease that has taken no fewer than 17 lives in the last few days

1. It is not contagious:

The state commissioner for health, Dr Dayo Adeyanju, made the declaration on Sunday, April 20, in Akure, while addressing newsmen. He explained that findings from post- mortems carried out on the victims and other laboratory tests revealed that the disease was neither epidemic nor contagious .

2. Some say it is the wrath of the gods :

High Chief Moses Enimade, the Oyewoga of Ode-Irele had attributed the deaths of the youths to a sacrilege done to Molokun, god of the land. According to him, the youths entered the shrine and made away with traditional items in a bid to acquire extra-ordinary powers and engage in money ritual.

3. Consumption of local gin responsible for the deaths:

Clinical and epidemiological findings point to the
consumption of poisoned local gin. The Ondo state
government has therefore warned the people to desist from consuming the locally brewed gin forthwith.

4. The strange disease is not Ebola :

Samples of the victims had been sent to Lagos for
laboratory test. Cerebro Spinal fluid, Blood and Urine specimens were taken for examination. The strange illness tagged as #OndoX tested negative to Ebola virus and five other viruses; yellow fever, lassa fever, rift valley fever, dengue and West Nile virus.

5. Symptoms different from that of Ebola:

All the deaths were preceded by symptoms of sudden blurred vision, headache and loss of consciousness. The neurologic clinical symptoms include blindness, and loss of consciousness. Those affected die within 24 hours.

6. Residents flee the community:

As the number of deaths from the mysterious ailment increased, many residents of Ode Irele, fled the town.

7. It is likely caused by pesticide poisoning:

Report had earlier surfaced that the World Health
Organisation said the likely cause of the mysterious deaths of at least 18 people could be pesticide poisoning. WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl had said: “the current hypothesis is, cause of the event is herbicides”. The Ondo state government has however debunked this, saying the report of pesticide poisoning did not emanate from WHO Nigeria.

8. No known name for the disease:

There is no known name for the #OndoX outbreak yet.

9. People at risk :

Nobody is at risk, but it appears male are mostly affected.

10. The picture below which has been circulating online as victims of the strange ailment is in no way connected to the outbreak. This was disclosed by Ondo Health Commissioner, Dr. Dayo Adeyanju in a TweetChat on Saturday.

The Nigerian government said on April 20, Monday thatthe disease had been brought under control after 18 deaths.

In the past 3 days, there has been no new case of the disease, and there has been no new fatality, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Health, Fidelis Nwankwo, said.

The minister added that the government was investigating the particular poisonous methanol substance involved in the outbreak, and assured that the stability achieved in the
last few days will be sustained.