MBEYA,
Tanzania
An
unidentified illness has been reported in south-western Tanzania by local media
where patients are said to vomit blood and die instantly.
Health
officials in Chunya district are quoted as saying that some victims died within
hours.
The
health ministry said it had sent a team of experts to investigate the reports
but ruled out any epidemic.
Health
Minister, Dorothy Gwajima, has suspended the local district chief medical
officer, Felister Kisandu who was quoted by local media as confirming the
illness, the Citizen newspaper reports.
Last
Saturday, Kisandu concurred with some sentiments by some politicians in the
district who alleged that there had been an emergence of a strange disease that
had so far killed 10 people after vomiting blood in the area.
It
all started during a full council meeting when Ifumbo councillor Weston Mpyila
wanted to know whether the government was aware of the emergence of the disease
and the steps it was taking to control it.
The
Council deputy chairman, who led the meeting, said the authorities were aware
of the emergence of the disease and already medics were in the ward to
ascertain the impact of the disease, whose solution was still being worked
upon.
The
medical officer is reported to have admitted about the emergence of the disease
and said a team of medical experts had already started investigating the
disease and specimen had been collected for further probe.
She
said most affected by the disease were male patients, who were diagnosed with
liver and ulcer complications and that the regional authorities promised to
conduct a study on the disease so that to know its cause.
The
ministry said it had established that the symptoms exhibited had been reported
from as early as 2018.
It urged
the public to remain calm as it investigates and promised to provide more
information.
Tanzania
has been accused of downplaying the scale of the coronavirus pandemic.
Tanzanians
have been urged to boost their immunity with herbal remedies in the face of the
pandemic.
The government has not provided any evidence that herbal remedies are effective.
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