The House of Representatives on Tuesday, asked the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to urgently deploy medical personnel to investigate and ascertain the nature of the unidentified disease currently killing residents of Nafada local government area of Gombe state.
In a resolution following a motion of urgent public importance, sponsored by Hon. Abdullahi El-Rasheed (PDP, Gombe), the House also asked the Nigeria Center for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) to promptly put up a surveillance team to curtail the spread of the strange disease and ensure that adequate treatment is extended to affected victims.
El-Rasheed expressed concern about the outbreak of what he described as a strange and yet-to-be-identified disease that is gradually spreading across communities in Nafada local government area of Gombe state.
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According to him, the disease has claimed the lives of youths and children within the affected communities in the last few days, while the number of victims has continued to increase rapidly, thereby instilling fear and apprehension in the affected communities.
He said: “The symptoms of the disease start with severe headache; stomach pain; vomiting and very smelly stool; leg pain and ultimately leading victims to severe overall body pain before their untimely death.
“The Gombe State Primary Healthcare Development Agency has deployed more health personnel to support the existing staff of Nafada General Hospital with a view to averting the spread of the disease and extending medical attention to affected victims.
“The blood samples of a few victims that were tested in the Medical Laboratory have shown negative reaction to Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM) which implies that the disease is yet to be diagnosed by health authorities and medical experts in Gombe State.
“The disease is fast spreading with about thirty (30) deaths recorded as of yesterday February 26, and can potentially halt business and school activities across the communities as parents are afraid of sending their children to school due to fear of contracting the disease.”
He expressed fears that the situation will escalate and spread across to other neighbouring communities and local governments if not properly and professionally managed