Alarm over 'strange' illness that has killed four and sickened dozens more in ... trends now
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Four people have been killed and dozens sickened by a 'strange' illness in Nigeria.
All of the cases have occurred in Sokoto, in the north-west of the country, close to the border of Niger.
Concerned health chiefs have now been dispatched to the area to investigate the nature of the illness.
Details on what the actual disease is are scarce.
Local media reported people have been struck down with symptoms such as fever, vomiting, sudden weight loss and abdominal swelling.
The deaths have all been recorded from March 21.
In total, 164 cases — mainly involving children aged between four and 13 — across the area have been logged.
Of these, four patients were hospitalised.
Another 130 have received treatment either at home or in local primary care centres.
At a press briefing in the country's capital Abuja on Tuesday, director general of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) Dr Jide Idris, said 'notably this is not the first occurrence',
