MUST READ: Unknown illness breaks out, 24 hospitalized in Bida

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Following an outbreak of an unidentified sickness in the town, at least 24 inhabitants of Bida, the seat of the Bida Local Government Area in Niger State, have been admitted to the hospital.

Twenty of the impacted patients were reportedly released from the Federal Medical Center and Umaru Sanda Ndayako General Hospital in Bida following more than a week of treatment.

Many people in the neighborhood are on edge due to the condition, which is characterized by abrupt collapse and loss of communicative abilities.

Dr. Bello Tukur, the Niger State Commissioner for Secondary and Tertiary Health, discussed the issue and blamed the cases on untreated acute malaria and typhoid.

“The Disease Surveillance Unit, Public Health Department, Ministry of Secondary and Tertiary Health, Niger State, received information on an outbreak of a strange illness in Bida LGA on 19th January 2025,” Dr. Tukur explained.

He also revealed that on January 20, 2025, the State Rapid Response Team (RRT) and the local government team carried out an inquiry under the direction of the Assistant State Disease Surveillance and Notification Officer.

“Symptoms observed in the patients included sudden onset of weakness, loss or altered consciousness, with or without fever. Total patients on admission were three—two at FMC Bida and one at Umaru Sanda Ndayako Hospital, Bida. Others in the hospitals have been discharged,” Dr. Tukur said.

Blood tests taken from the afflicted people showed the sickness was connected to typhoid fever and inadequately treated malaria, the commissioner said.

He also suggested that diphenhydramine-induced hypersomnolence might be a cause.

The commissioner confirmed that all patients received treated locally in Bida and that no deaths were reported during the outbreak.

“The total number of cases was 24: four on admission and 20 discharged. The State Government and Bida LGA have sensitised residents on environmental hygiene, personal hygiene, and adequate nutrition,” Dr. Tukur added.

Additionally, he affirmed that additional laboratory tests were being conducted and that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) had been informed.

In order to control the issue, active case searches have been carried out in medical facilities and the community, and local authorities are attempting to stop additional breakouts.

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