Nigeria: Unknown Disease Kills Five, Affects 200 Households in Adamawa

[Ronan Kelly]

Nigeria: Unknown Disease Kills Five, Affects 200 Households in Adamawa
BY IBRAHIM ABDUL'AZIZ, 7 DECEMBER 2012

Yola — At least five people have been confirmed dead, while 70 others are lying critically ill at the hospital following an outbreak of a yet to be diagnosed ailment. It was gathered that over 200 households in the border area of Mubi-South in Adamawa State have been affected.

Usman Lamorde, member representing Mubi-South in the state House of Assembly on Wednesday confirmed the death toll, saying the nature of the disease has not been determined.

Speaking on the floor of the House,Usman Lamorde said over 200 household were affected in Nduku-Seranyi village.

"This disease comes without warning, and by the time it is discovered, it's too late. The disease is characterized by excessive vomiting, diarrhoea, high fever and in some instances, coughing, hence the need for urgent intervention," he said.
...
http://allafrica.com/stories/201212070831.html

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Nigeria: Unknown Disease Kills Five, Affects 200 Households in Adamawa

Here's an interesting report from 2009 - uses almost identical quote on the symptoms - Ro

Strange disease kills 71 people in Nigeria's Adamawa State
www.chinaview.cn 2009-09-25 14:51:10
LAGOS, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- At least 71 people have been confirmed dead and other 746 lying critically ill of a yet to be diagnosed disease in northeast Nigeria's Adamawa State, the Nigerian Tribune newspaper reported on Friday.

Bubakari Musa Kamale, state commissioner for information, confirmed the death toll, saying the nature of the disease has not been determined.

The official said the state government is waiting for the outcome of the specimen sent for analysis. The epidemic has continued unabated for the past weeks, he said, ruling out the outbreak of cholera.

"This is a strange disease that is characterized by excessive vomiting, diarrhea, high fever and in some instances, coughing," said the commissioner.
...
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-09/25/content_12111081.htm

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Nigeria: Unknown Disease Kills Five, Affects 200 Households in Adamawa

FluTrackers thread on the 2009 outbreak which seems to have been cholera - http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?p=301598

 

[alert]

Re: Nigeria: Unknown Disease Kills Five, Affects 200 Households in Adamawa

Published Date: 2012-12-07 14:50:57
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Undiagnosed fatalities - Nigeria: (AD) RFI
Archive Number: 20121207.1442547

UNDIAGNOSED FATALITIES - NIGERIA: (ADAMAWA) REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
*******************************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org

Date: Fri 7 Dec 2012
Source: All Africa, Daily Trust report [edited]
http://allafrica.com/stories/201212070831.html


At least 5 people have been confirmed dead, while 70 others are lying critically ill at the hospital following an outbreak of a yet to be diagnosed ailment. It was gathered that over 200 households in the border area of Mubi-South in Adamawa State have been affected.

On Wednesday [5 Dec 2012], Usman Lamorde, member representing Mubi-South in the state House of Assembly, confirmed the death toll, saying the nature of the disease has not been determined.

Speaking on the floor of the House, Usman Lamorde said over 200 households were affected in Nduku-Seranyi village. "This disease comes without warning, and by the time it is discovered, it's too late. The disease is characterized by excessive vomiting, diarrhoea, high fever, and in some instances, coughing, hence the need for urgent intervention," he said.

Following the motion, Speaker of the state Assembly, Umaru Ahmad Fintiri, ordered that health officials be deployed with immediate effect to curtail the spread of the disease.

When contacted, the state's Commissioner for Health, Mrs Lilian Stephen, said disease control personnel have moved to the affected areas, and that the state government is waiting for the outcome of the specimen sent for analysis.

According to her, samples have since been sent to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Gombe for analysis.

[Byline: Ibrahim Abdul'Aziz]

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>

[Checking the newswires for additional information on the outbreak mentioned above revealed that there has been flooding in Adamawa state recently (http://nigeria.news24.com/National/News/Adamawa-procures-fertiliser-for-flood-victims-20121203). The history of recent flooding followed by an outbreak of a febrile illness with gastrointestinal symptoms (excessive vomiting and diarrhea) and, as mentioned above, some respiratory component (coughing) suggests diseases that are more prone in the rainy season including such diseases known to have rodents as intermediate hosts and where there is exposure to rodents and their excretions, such as Lassa fever, Ebola virus disease, and leptospirosis to mention a few. Of note, there was a report of Lassa fever outbreak activity in Taraba state earlier this year (February 2012 -- see ProMED-mail Lassa fever - Nigeria: (03) (TA), fatalities 20120211.1039402). In another report in February 2012, there was mention of Lassa fever cases in Edo, Nasarawa, Plateau, Ebonyi, Taraba, Yobe, Ondo, Rivers, Gombe, Anambra, Delta, and Lagos (see ProMED-mail Lassa fever - Nigeria (04) 20120223.1050129). Another illness that manifests with excessive vomiting and diarrhea is cholera, although high fever is not often seen with cholera.

More information on the results of laboratory and epidemiologic studies of this outbreak would be greatly appreciated.

Adamawa state is located in the northeastern part of Nigeria. Bordering states include Borno to the northwest, Gombe to the west, and Taraba to the southwest. It shares its eastern border with Cameroon. For a map of Nigeria showing states, see http://www.mapsofworld.com/nigeria/nigeria-political-map.html.

 

[alert]

Re: Nigeria: Unknown Disease Kills Five, Affects 200 Households in Adamawa

This seems like a bit farfetched of an explanation to me...

Published Date: 2012-12-09 20:52:36
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Undiagnosed fatalities - Nigeria (02): (AD) RFI
Archive Number: 20121209.1444163

UNDIAGNOSED FATALITIES - NIGERIA (02): (ADAMAWA), REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
*************************************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
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Date: Sun 9 Dec 2012
From: Shamsudeen Fagbo <oloungbo@yahoo.com> [edited]


From a One Health and practical point of view, one important differential diagnosis that needs to be considered in situations like this is Rift Valley fever. Work in the once vibrant Rockefeller funded Virology lab in the University of Ibadan by Tomori and others (see one reference below) clearly demonstrated RVFV circulation in Nigeria. Are the clinicians involved in situations such as in Taraba considering RVF as a differential diagnosis? Does lab capacity to diagnose evidence of RVFV exist?

Increased risk for Rift Valley fever transmission post flooding/heavy rainfall is well documented. It would be helpful if data on animal health patterns (especially abortions) and mosquito population dynamics post flooding can be obtained. In Taraba state, especially in the Mambilla Plateau region, there is large-scale livestock farming involving many animals. Without active animal health surveillance, animal illness events (e.g. abortions/neonatal mortalities) preceding human involvement could be missed, limiting the opportunity to incorporate such data into timely, preventive health measures, as expected in the true spirit of One Health.

Reference:
Tomori O, Fabiyi A, Sorungbe A, Smith A, McCormick JB. Viral hemorrhagic fever antibodies in Nigerian populations. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1988 Mar;38(2):407-10 [abstract available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3128130].

--
Shamsudeen Fagbo, DVM, MSc
National Coordinator
Zoonotic Diseases Unit
General Directorate of Infectious Disease Control
Ministry of Health
Riyadh 11176

[ProMED-mail would like to thank Dr. Shamsudeen Fagbo for his excellent comments and for reminding us of the possibility of Rift Valley fever (RVF) as a possible etiology for this outbreak. Dr. Fagbo raises excellent points and excellent questions to be addressed. While RVF has not been reported in Nigeria on ProMED-mail, the virus is definitely present in Northwest Africa, as can be verified through the reports of a major outbreak in Mauritania earlier this year (2012, see prior ProMED-mail posts below).

This moderator was not able to identify reports of actual documented outbreaks of RVF in Nigeria, but there are a number of serosurveys that have been conducted demonstrating the presence of antibodies to RVF-V in humans and in domestic farm animals in Nigeria (see references below).

1. Olaleye OD, Tomori O, Ladipo MA, Schmitz H. Rift Valley fever in Nigeria: infections in humans. Rev Sci Tech. 1996 Sep;15(3):923-35. (full article available at http://www.oie.int/doc/ged/D9078.PDF)
2. Olaleye OD, Tomori O, Schmitz H. Rift Valley fever in Nigeria: infections in domestic animals. Rev Sci Tech. 1996 Sep;15(3):937-46. (full article available at: http://www.oie.int/doc/ged/D9079.PDF)
3. Adeyeye AA, Ekong PS, Pilau NN. Rift Valley fever: the Nigerian story. Vet Ital. 2011 Jan-Mar;47(1):35-40. (full article available at: http://www.izs.it/vet_italiana/2011/47_1/35.pdf)
4. Ezeifeka GO, Umoh JU, Belino ED, Ezeokoli CD. A serological survey for Rift Valley fever antibody in food animals in Kaduna and Sokoto States of Nigeria. Int J Zoonoses. 1982 Dec;9(2):147-51. (abstract available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6820360)
5. Tomori O. Rift Valley fever virus infection in man in Nigeria. J Med Virol. 1980;5(4):343-50. (summary available at: http://www.readcube.com/articles/10...343::AID-JMV1890050411>3.0.CO;2-W?tab=summary).


More information from knowledgeable sources in the region would be greatly appreciated.

Adamawa state is located in the northeastern part of Nigeria. Bordering states include Borno to the northwest, Gombe to the west, and Taraba to the southwest. It shares its eastern border with Cameroon. For a map of Nigeria showing states, see http://www.mapsofworld.com/nigeria/nigeria-political-map.html.

 

[Laidback Al]

Re: Nigeria: Unknown Disease Kills Five, Affects 200 Households in Adamawa

This outbreak has been widely reported in the media, but all sources are reporting and re-reporting the same information. So far, no additional information about this outbreak has been reported among internet news outlets since December 7.
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