A mysterious disease kills 18 in Ethiopia

ADDIS ABABA (AFP) – A mysterious disease has killed 18 people and affected around 150 others in central Ethiopia, the UN humanitarian office said Monday.

“Although the signs and symptoms of the disease include headache, fever, neck stiffness, diarrhea and vomitting — all related to meningitis, the specific disease has not yet been confirmed,” it said in a statement.

The Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the disease erupted on July 4.

Meanwhile, an outbreak of typhoid fever has killed one person and affected more than 100 in the northern Tigray region, OCHA said, adding that 11 others have also died of acute watery diarrhea across the country.

The Horn of Africa nation is also facing food shortages in some parts with over six million of its people needing food aid due to poor rains, according to the UN.

Ethiopia is Africa’s second most populous country after Nigeria with around 77 million inhabitants.