DAR ES SALAAM, 7 February 2021 – An unidentified disease has been blamed for the death of at least 15 people in Tanzania’s Chunya district, health officials said Sunday.
The disease which causes those infected to experience nausea and to vomit blood, has also sickened more than 50 people.
Unidentified Disease Kills 15 – Photo Anadolu Agency
“This problem has not been widespread, it has happened in just a single administrative ward of Ifumbo where people vomit blood and die when they get to the hospital late,” said Felista Kisandu, the chief medical officer for Chunya, a remote district.
Tanzanian Health Minister Doroth Gwajima – Photo The Citizen
Tanzania’s health minister, Doroth Gwajima, has deployed ateam of medical experts to Mbeya city, at the epicenter of the outbreak, to clinically assess patients and investigate the cause of the outbreak.
Gwajima has called on the people to remain calm while officials are making a follow-up on what had happened.
Initial clinical examination revealed the patients, mostly men, experienced stomach ulcers and liver disease, Kisandu was cited Sunday by Tanzanian media as saying.
Kisandu told reporters that health officials have advised patients to avoid drinking illicit brew, smoking cigarettes and consuming other hard drinks.
