Strange Illness Attack Irele Community in Ondo; Victims gets Blind, Dies few Hours Later

Panic has hit Ondo state where, based on the recent update, 27 people died from a mysterious unidentified ailment.



Channels TV reports that all the deaths have been recorded in Irele LGA of the state.

Dr Dayo Adeyanju, Ondo health commissioner, said that the disease is strange and it’s symptoms include headache and loss of sight.

He noted that was definitely not Ebola, assured the residents that the local and international health institutions were already investigating the causes of the ailment and considering the effective ways of treatment.

In an attempt to allay the residents’ fears Adeyanju said that the situation was under control.

UPDATE

Sahara Reporters provides that two more people have just died in the area following the disease spread. According to the article, the total number of deaths recorded in three days corresponds 27.

Ayodele Omole, a community leader, told the press that the first case was registered in the morning of April 15, 2015, Wednesday. It caused panic among residents, as many people were fleeing from the area.

Omole said that many residents had blamed it on an “evil spiritual attack”:

“Unlike yesterday, people are now scared of carrying the bodies because of fear of infections. Some residents have fled the community for Ore town while others are planning to leave for Akure for total safety.”

The local added that apart from causing blindness, the virus also made victims’ tongues to swell abnormally that prevented them from speaking. The victims were dying in a few hours after showing the first symptoms.

According to Omole, many in the community did not believe in the ability of the state health authorities to overcome “a spiritual cause”. The locals were relying on some traditional healers, hoping they would help.

An unnamed resident of the town said the gods in the community were angry because “some section of the shrine was recently destroyed and some sacred objects stolen by unknown people.” The young man added that some worshipers of the deity and traditional priests were meeting to discover those behind the theft.

In a similar development, last year a strange disease claimed lives of five students in Kebbi state.

One of the students of Kanta Unity College, who pleaded for anonymity, narrated:

“We believe that the death of our colleagues is an attack by evil spirits. We were cleaning our school environment recently when we heard a strange voice in the fire we set to rubbish, telling us to be ready to face the music for what the strange voice called ‘intruding into their vicinity’.”