Mysterious illness claims 4 lives

Wed, 07 Jun 2017 12:07:27 +0000

By LINDA SOKO-TEMBO

FOUR people have died within a week under mysterious circumstances in Chief Mpepo’s village in Mpika district, Mpika public health officer Acrecuois Kausu has disclosed.

Mr Kausu explained that the four, whose names have been withheld, showed no signs of sickness as they all just collapsed and died.

He said one of the victims presented symptoms of sweating and vomiting before he died while the others were found dead under unclear circumstances.

The cause of death has not been established.

Mr. Kausu explained that one of the victims, aged 50, was at the graveyard performing funeral rites  when he suddenly started sweating and vomiting after which he collapsed and was pronounced dead upon reaching Mpepo Rural Health Centre.

“The second victim, aged between 40 and 50 years old, died on the bank of Chambeshi river in similar circumstances. The health officer who rushed to the seen could not establish the cause of his death,” he said.

He said the third victim was also discovered dead under unknown circumstances and that a 3-year-old girl was also a victim of the mysterious disease.

Mr Kausu said the cause of the deaths had not been investigated but it was concluded that they were coincidental, which occurred within a short period of time.  “We suspect that maybe the victim who was 50 years old could have had hypertension, and the 3-year-old victim was suspected of having anemia and malnutrition,” he said.