Nigeria: NCDC probes strange illness, mainly in children, in Sokoto - not infectious

[Shiloh]

Source: https://punchng.com/ncdc-probes-strange-illness-in-sokoto/

NCDC probes strange illness in Sokoto
9th April 2024​
By Lara Adejoro

The Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr Jide Idris, on Tuesday, said the agency has begun investigating and responding to a strange illness identified in six wards in Sokoto State.

Idris said the agency has deployed a National Rapid Response Team to work with the Sokoto State Ministry of Health to respond to the incidents.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, Idris explained that the agency was notified by the state ministry of health on March 21, 2024, of reported cases of children presenting with symptoms which include abdominal distension due to the rapid onset of fluids in the abdomen (ascites), fever, vomiting and weight loss from Isa Local Government Area of the state.

He noted that most of the cases are children aged four to 13 years, including some adults from different wards and settlements across the LGA.

He said, “The NCDC deployed a National Rapid Response Team to work with the State Ministry of Health to further investigate and respond to this incident. So far, a total of 164 suspected cases have been identified in six wards of Isa LGA Bargaja (22), Isa North (17), Isa South (98), Tozai (12), Tsabre (4), and Turba (11). Unfortunately, four deaths have been recorded among the suspected cases.

“A similar incident was previously documented in 2023, also without a definitive diagnosis...


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[Shiloh]

Source: https://businessday.ng/news/article/strange-illness-in-sokoto-not-infectious-ncdc/

Strange illness in Sokoto not infectious— NCDC
Godsgift Onyedinefu
April 10, 2024

​…begins investigation into cause

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has confirmed that the strange illness that has caused the death of four individuals in Sokoto State is not infectious.

Jide Idris, the director-general of the NCDC, speaking in Abuja stated that the initial clinical assessment and investigations of the cases admitted at the Teaching Hospital have ruled out an infectious origin of this event.

This, he noted, necessitated the need to search for other causes, including heavy metal testing.

Meanwhile, he mentioned that investigations have begun to determine the immediate and remote causes of the unknown killer disease.

Idris disclosed that a total of 164 suspected cases have been identified in six wards in Isa Local Government Area of the state. The patients came from different wards and settlements across the LGA, and most of the cases were children aged four to 13 years, including some adults.​..

 

[Shiloh]

Source: https://punchng.com/strange-disease-ncdc-meets-sokoto-zamfara-kaduna-health-commissioners/

Strange disease: NCDC meets Sokoto, Zamfara, Kaduna health commissioners
19th April 2024​
By Lara Adejoro

THE Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr Jide Idris, has met with the Sokoto Kaduna and Zamfara states Commissioners for Health over the spread of an identfied disease killing children.

The meeting, according to a statement on the NCDC’s website, held at the NCDC’s headquarters in Abuja.

The NCDC had on April 9 announced that it had launched an investigation to unravel an unidentified disease, which had killed 164 children of between four and 13 years in Sokoto State.

According to the latest statement, the disease, which originated from Sokoto and Zamfara states, has spread to Kaduna State.​,,

...“The honourable Commissioners (Hajiya Asabe Balarabe, Dr Aisha Anka, and Hajiya Umma Ahmed) discussed the current situation, provided updates on response efforts, and agreed with the DG of NCDC on further measures to contain and mitigate the impact of the illness suspected to be heavy metal poisoning possibly linked to mining activities.

“As of today, a total of 196 suspected cases of the unknown illness with seven deaths have been reported across Isa, Sabon Birni, and Ilella Local Government Areas of Sokoto State. Results of the analyses on the various samples sent to the different sister laboratories including NIPRID, NAFDAC, and NIMR are being awaited.

“Following reports of similar cases in Zamfara State, another National Rapid Response Team will be deployed this week to assess the situation and provide support to the state,” the statement noted.​..

 

[Shiloh]

Source: https://pmnewsnigeria.com/2024/04/1...-8-lives-in-sokoto-208-cases-identified-ncdc/

Strange illness claims 8 lives in Sokoto, 208 cases identified - NCDC
19th April, 2024
By Habibu Harisu

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has said no fewer than eight lives have been lost out of 208 suspected cases of strange illness at Sabon Birni and Isa local government areas of Sokoto State.

NCDC Centre manager in Sokoto, Dr Ibrahim Usman revealed this in the presentation he made at an interactive session with officials of Sokoto State Ministry of Health and Director General of the Centre, Dr Jide Idris, Thursday.

Usman who made the presentation alongside his team said the NCDC and Sokoto State Government have collected samples that have been transported to higher laboratories for test to ascertain the disease.

“The illness manifested with symptoms such as abdominal distension, fever, vomiting and weight loss, primarily afflicting children aged four to 13, along with some adults.

“Already, the NCDC has deployed a National Rapid Response Team (NRRT), to collaborate with the State Ministry of Health to investigate the matter,” Usman said.​..

 

[Pathfinder]

Sokoto State Affairs

@Sokoto_Affairs​

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has resolved the mystery surrounding recent deaths in Sokoto State. On 9 April, the NCDC announced that it had instituted an investigation to unravel an unidentified disease which had killed 164 children of between four and 13 years in the state. “We can say that luckily it is not a disease of infectious origin. We sent the blood samples to different laboratories and what we discovered so far is evidence of heavy metal poisoning in those two states,” said the NCDC Director General, Jide Idris. Since heavy metals that are associated with poisoning of humans include lead, mercury, arsenic and cadmium, there is nothing to rejoice about in the findings because these deaths would most probably be associated with illegal mining activities. In the case of the affected communities, it is likely lead, based on previous fatalities, especially in neighbouring Zamfara State.

Indeed, the menace of lead poisoning due principally to the activities of illegal miners had been headlined many times over. Now that the NCDC has the facilities to test, they need to probe further to find out the extent of the damage illegal mining activities have done to rural communities across Nigeria. In 2010, no fewer than 400 children under five died from lead poisoning in Zamfara State alone. An American assessment team from the Lead Poisoning Prevention Branch, Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, said lead poisoning was closer to every home in Nigeria than realised. They said there was so much lead in the air, on water and at homes. More troubling was the disclosure that most of the miners were themselves carriers of death. Some of the miners took home their dusty clothes and shoes contaminated with lead, which their innocent children inhaled to their peril.

Lead is colourless, odourless and tasteless, making it an insidious killer. Besides death, the short-term effects of lead poisoning include acute fever, convulsion, loss of consciousness and blindness, while the long-term effects include anaemia, renal failure and brain damage in children, who are often the main victims. Many of them are left with severe handicaps like some form of paralysis while others are afflicted with severe mental retardation and other health disorders. Evidently, repeated scenes of funerals and the vulnerability of the living in many communities due to illegal mining activities have not acted as deterrence. Perhaps because of familiarity, the people are either impervious to the growing tragedy or simply living in denial.

In 2011, the ministry of mines and steel development set up a panel to investigate the accident and recommend measures to prevent future occurrence. Remediation work started by TerraGraphics, a US-based engineering firm, was halted when it ran out of funds, which was in the first place donated by some foreign agencies. The company targeted 15 contaminated villages for remediation and had cleaned up seven. The money promised by our government never came. Meanwhile, more communities are getting infected as more people are digging their own graves.

Yet, even more worrisome is the growing feeling that there is no solution in sight. Many Nigerians engaged in these activities because it is their only source of livelihood. Zamfara State is a haven for illegal mining. The state is rich in iron, gold and copper, minerals which a former Governor, Abdulaziz Yari, once said are of high quality and could even sustain the state if put to effective use. Ironically, these valuable minerals have become agents of death. In the absence of any other rewarding vocation, many of the inhabitants often pour into mining sites to help themselves and in so doing, endanger their lives and those of others, particularly children.


​3:24 AM · Jun 6, 2024
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