Mysterious disease outbreak kills at least 45 in northwestern Nigerian state of Kano

By Ibrahim Garba Shuaibu

KANO, Nigeria (AA) - An outbreak of a mysterious disease has killed at least 45 residents since Monday in the village of Gundutse in the Kura local government area of Kano state in northwestern Nigeria, according to officials.

Adamu Gundutse said the village buried 35 people at a cemetery in the area.

He told Anadolu that villagers counted fresh graves. including six for children. between Monday and Wednesday.

A staffer at the village clinic, who preferred to remain anonymous said: “We reported the outbreak to the state ministry of health,” adding that “water and blood samples had been collected for laboratory analysis to ascertain the cause of the mysterious disease.”

A Gundutse councilor, Dauda Abdulhamid, told Anadolu that “in a tragic moment, we buried many children as a result of this mysterious disease.”

An official of the Kura Local Government Council, Yahaya Tijjani, confirmed the outbreak but declined to give a causality figure.

The official said precautionary action was taken with the closure of one borehole in the village, prompting residents to use well water.

State Health Commissioner Abubakar Labaran said: “We received a report of the disease and the government has already sent an expert team to ascertain the cause of the disease.”

The epidemic is common in rural areas in Kano because of the unhygienic water, while open defecation contributes to diseases

Doctors from international organizations have been advising Kano communities to use safe water for activities.