Mysterious disease kills five in Tanzania: Experts dispatched to study ‘strange’ disease

A mysterious illness that causes headaches and fever has claimed the lives of at least five people in Tanzania.

Health chiefs in the east African nation, which lies south of Kenya, have described the disease as “strange”.

Authorities have now dispatched a team of doctors to diagnose the disease, with seven cases reported in the northwest region of Kagera.

Symptoms of the disease include fever, headache, fatigue and nosebleeds, the government’s chief medical officer Tumaini Nagu told the BBC.

“The government has formed a regional team of professionals under the Rapid Response Team to investigate this unknown disease,” Nagu said.

Authorities have now dispatched a team of doctors to diagnose the disease, with seven cases reported in the northwest region of Kagera

Nagu said residents of the Kagera region must avoid contact with infected people and remain calm.

In July last year, three people with similar symptoms died after an outbreak in Tanzania’s southern Lindi region. At that time, more than 20 cases were reported.

Later research identified the disease as leptospirosis, also known as Weil’s disease.

Weil disease is a rare infection transmitted through the urine of animals such as rats, mice, cows, pigs and dogs.

Symptoms include fever, headache, nausea and vomiting, muscle and joint pain, red eyes, and loss of appetite.

Severe cases of the infection can cause yellow skin and eyes, swollen ankles, feet, or hands, chest pain, shortness of breath, or coughing up blood.

The disease can be treated with antibiotics and may take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to clear up.

But without treatment, the infection could take months to recover and could lead to life-threatening kidney and liver failure.

Although 90 percent of cases are mild, between 5 and 15 percent progress to a severe form that can lead to organ failure and even death. Between one and five percent of cases are fatal.

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