9 students hospitalised as strange disease hits Benue school

Nine students of Vaatia College in Makurdi, the Benue state capital, were reportedly hospitalised following a strange disease which hit the school

Consequently, the school was last Sunday shut down to forestall the spread of the disease.

The disease was reportefly first discovered in the school in 2017 and had lingered till now.

Benue state Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Joseph Gbea, who confirmed the incident said the ministry had sent a team to verify the nature of the disease.

He said one student had so far recovered from the disease, two were being treated at Madona Hospital while the remaining six were hospitalised at the Benue State University Teaching Hospital (BSUTH) in Makurdi.

He said symptoms of the disease included weakness of the limbs, fever and headache among others.

He stated that the symptoms of the disease were similar to those of polio but that the difference was that it does not render the patient completely paralysed.

Gbea said the ministry was focused on looking at those who were being treated, noting that there was yet no diagnosis at the teaching hospital.

“We cannot tell for sure whether the disease is contagious, but based on our observation it is auto-immune.

“We have advised the school to shut down. We want to research into the disease to find out if it is contagious; that is why we asked them to close down the school.

“We want to look at the biology of the disease and then be able to advise the school appropriately,” he was quoted by Blueprint newspaper to have said.