Pesticide the likely cause of Nigeria ‘mystery disease’

The “current hypothesis is cause of the event is herbicides”, WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said in a Tweet. WHO had been running tests searching for the cause of the mysterious deaths of at least 18 people in Nigeria earlier this week. The victims began showing symptoms early last week in what Ondo state spokesman Kayode Akinmade called a “mysterious disease”, prompting fears of a new infectious disease outbreak in a region ravaged by Ebola. The victims, whose symptoms included headache, weight loss, blurred vision and loss of consciousness, died within a day of falling ill in the town of Ode-Irele, in southwestern Ondo state.

Common symptoms were sudden blurred vision, headache, loss of consciousness followed by death, occurring within 24 hours.

WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic