From:
A-Lan.Banks@thomson.com
Source: The Namibian [edited]
http://www.namibian.com.na/2006/June/national/06275E4F29.html
Panic is sweeping through suburbs north of Katutura after 3
people
died and 19 others were hospitalised with a disease that still
has to
be identified.
A press release from the Ministry of Health and Social Services
last
night indicated that the disease was not confined to the Khomas
Region, and that cases of "undiagnosed paralysis" among adults
had
been reported in the Otjozondjupa and Hardap regions.
A media briefing is scheduled for this morning to reveal
information
related to the outbreak.
Well-placed hospital sources confirmed yesterday that 2 other
people
were fighting for their lives in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU)
of the
Windhoek Central Hospital after contracting the mystery disease.
Health personnel revealed that parts of the Katutura and
Windhoek
Central Hospital have been declared restricted areas as
Government
intensifies efforts to identify the disease and to deal with it.
When The Namibian visited the Okahandja Park informal settlement
yesterday to speak to a family who lost a baby, residents
confirmed
that another child had died a few hours earlier in Babilon.
An emergency meeting took place late yesterday afternoon after
health
personnel conducted a quick survey in Okuryangava and Okahandja
Park.
They were reporting their findings to the Deputy Minister of
Health,
Petrina Haingura, and other senior staff members of the
Ministry.
Health sources said 18 adults and a child were hospitalised at
the
Katutura and Windhoek Central hospitals and samples have been
sent to
South Africa for analysis.
There were fears that they were all attacked by Guillain-Barre
syndrome (GBS) -- a disorder of the peripheral nervous system.
It
causes the nerves to inflame, slowing communication to and from
the
brain. Eventually, the brain is not able to effectively
communicate
with the peripheral nerves, causing paralysis. Victims become
severely out of breath and unable to perform previously
effortless
tasks, such as swallowing. Cramps and body aches often follow.
After
approximately 2 weeks, the patient may deteriorate to a
condition of
severe paralysis.
However, health personnel said the disease appeared not to be
GBS,
although the symptoms were similar. "We can't say exactly what
it is
but we also do not want to sound alarm.
"People must stay calm for now," said one senior health
official.
A [father] who lost his 10-month-old baby on Monday, said it all
happened very quickly. "She started crying on Sunday night and
we
took her to hospital where she got tablets. She was fine the
next
morning when I went to work and took medicine. Next thing she
started
vomiting and we took her back. She died while we were waiting
for
treatment," he said. He also said the baby was not sick before
that.
He is leaving for the North today to bury the baby.
A community activist in Okahandja Park, said she knew of a man
who
died on board a bus to the North. "It is very strange. He
stopped
speaking and his eyes started getting bigger before he died. He
was
in the bus waiting for its departure to the North," she said.
Another volunteer at the Okahandja Park Bridging Children School
said
they had 19 children absent yesterday. They were told that some
had
polio symptoms but will only know today what exactly was wrong.
[Byline: Christof Maletsky]
--
ProMED-mail
[The above description of clinical illness is not very clear,
making
a differential diagnosis difficult at this point. The newswire
(and
presumably the reporter) are suggesting clinical symptoms
consistent
with a diagnosis of Guillain-Barre Syndrome and or polio,
although
the 2 cases that are described do not seem consistent with
either
classical GBS or classical polio.
GBS, an acute ascending, usually symmetrical, paralysis,
associated
with sensory deficits can be confused with polio, especially
with the
formerly called "bulbar" version of polio, in which there is
accompanying respiratory compromise due to paralysis of the
muscles
associated with respiration. Typically though, polio is an acute
flaccid paralysis that is asymmetrical and not associated with
sensory deficits.
Before venturing speculations on the etiology of the above
illness,
this moderator would very much appreciate more information from
knowledgeable sources. - Mod.MPP]
