The National Rapid Response Team has been deployed to Kano State by the Federal Government to investigate the mystery of a strange illness as well as to manage identified victims in the state.
Chikwe Ihekweazu, the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) revealed this at a joint national briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 in Abuja on Monday.
Reports say the strange disease has killed four persons with over 200 others infected. The illness has been confirmed in 13 local government areas, including 8 metropolitan councils in the state.
Symptoms identified include fever, vomiting, yellowish eyes and abdominal pain.
Ihekweazu said, “We’ve tested four samples taken from these cases for Lassa fever and yellow fever at the NCDC National Reference Lab. The results of these were negative.
“We’re working with, our sister agency NAFDAC as well as a toxicologist from FMoH to test for potential non-infectious causes.
“Our immediate focus is to identify the cause of this outbreak, ensure management of current cases and to control transmission.
“We’ll continue to keep members of the public aware of our findings, while we support the state’s response.”
