The Director General, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr Jide Idris, has confirmed the outbreak of a mysterious illness in Sokoto state.
Idris who made this disclosure in a statement on Tuesday, said the outbreak of disease of unknown origin was reported to the agency on March 21.
He said, “So far, a total of 164 suspected cases have been identified in six wards of Isa local government area in the following wards: Bargaja, 22, Isa North, 17, Isa South, 98, Tozai, 12, Tsabre, 4, and Turba, 11, adding that four deaths have been recorded amongst the suspected cases.”
NCDC DG explained that the agency was notified by the Sokoto State Ministry of Health on March 21, 2024, of reported cases of children presenting with symptoms which include abdominal distension due to rapid onset of fluids in the abdomen, ascites, fever, vomiting and weight loss from Isa LGA of Sokoto State.
‘’Recently, the Sokoto State Ministry of Health reported cases of children presenting with symptoms that include abdominal distension due to rapid onset of fluids in the abdomen (ascites), fever, vomiting, and weight loss from the Isa Local Government Area (LGA) of Sokoto State. Most of these cases are children aged 4–13 years, including some adults. The patients came from different wards and settlements across the LGA.”
Dr Idris 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.
While saying that a similar incident was previously documented in 2023, also without a definitive diagnosis, he said currently, two suspected cases are receiving care in Uthman Dan Fodio University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH) in Sokoto, and one case discharged on account of improved symptoms.
He said, “Four (4) other suspected cases are also on admission at the Isa General Hospital, while about 130 cases are also receiving care either within the Primary Healthcare Centres (PHC) or home care in the affected LGA.”
The NCDC DG noted that initial clinical assessment and investigations of the cases admitted at the teaching hospital ruled out an infectious origin of the event, necessitating the need to search for other causes, including heavy metal testing.
He pointed out that that results of the initial test for heavy metals for the index and first few suspected cases, revealed different blood levels of lead (Pb) and Chromium (Cr).
He further said that the results of test received yesterday showed high levels of lead in the blood of the affected cases, adding that other test were still being carried out to determine the disease.
He said samples have been taken and dispatched for analysis, including ”blood, abdominal fluids, soil and water from the environment, locally sourced food items, ingredients used in food and beverages, as well as pesticides and chemicals used in local guns.’’
Idris affirmed that despite the security challenges affecting access to the community, the agency was working in collaboration with other stakeholders to unravel the cause of the outbreak.
‘’These include the teaching hospital, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), the State Ministry of Health, various health workers, the Sokoto State Water Board, and other MDAs.”
While condoling with the families affected, He enjoined members of the affected and nearby communities to be vigilant and report anyone presenting with the stated symptoms to the nearest health facilities to them or call NCDC toll free line .
