Ivory Coast: a "mysterious disease" mows down 20 people including 18 children near Bouaké

A child carries a container full of water in Bouaké, Côte d'Ivoire (Illustrative image).

© ISSOUF SANOGO / AFP

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

The concern remains in Kpo-Kahankro, a village located in the center of Côte d'Ivoire, where 20 people have died since December for reasons that remain unexplained.

A "

", in the words of the Ministry of Health, which mainly affects children.

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With our correspondent in Abidjan,

90% of the victims are minors: 18 children, aged 1 to 8, died in this village which is 7 km from Bouaké, according to local sources collected by AFP.

Two women also died.

Each time the same symptoms: convulsions, vomiting and diarrhea.

33 other residents of Kpo-Kahankro were also urgently admitted to the University Hospital Center (CHU) in Bouaké, suffering from the same symptoms.

The Minister of Health, Paul Dimba, visited the site on Tuesday 31 January.

He assured that the situation was “ 

 ”.

According to the ministry, specialists in infectiology, epidemiology, and medical teams were dispatched to the scene to try to define the nature of this epidemic.

However, the National Institute of Public Hygiene (INPH), which is carrying out these investigations, has not yet issued its conclusions. 

According to a source familiar with the matter, an herbicide could be the cause of these multiple deaths.

The Ministry of Health must speak to the press on this subject next Wednesday.

►Also listen: Health Notebook - Hélène, community health worker in Côte d'Ivoire

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• Ivory Coast

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