Undetermined disease puzzles health officials

Five people have died from an as yet unnamed disease in Namibia and health authorities are eagerly awaiting the results from urine, stool and blood specimens sent to South Africa. Tests carried out locally failed to yield conclusive results. "We really don't have an idea what the disease is, and investigations are going on," Erna Awaseb, acting director of primary healthcare, told IRIN. Initially, the disease was confirmed in three informal settlements in Katutura, the capital's oldest township, but Awaseb said it had also been found south of Windhoek in the Karas Region and to the north in the Otjozondjupa Region. "We are still investigating why it has been notified in these regions, but that can only happen after we identify what the disease is," Awaseb confirmed. The test results are expected on Wednesday this week. Windhoek Central Hospital (WCH), Namibia's biggest referral center, is caring for 17 people ranging from 14 to 55 years old, one of whom is in critical condition, with 15 others at Katutura State Hospital. Dr Helen Kandi-Shiimi, senior medical superintendent of WCH, said the disease caused paralysis or weakness of the lower limbs and had symptoms similar to those of poliomyelitis. At a press conference on Friday last week, acting health minister Petrina Haingura said other symptoms included breathing difficulties, chest pains, headaches and dizziness. Initial fears were that the disease was Guillain-Barre syndrome - a disorder of the nervous system - or a polio outbreak, but tests have ruled out both of these. Haingura said there "was more to the disease", and the government was working closely with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to identify and deal with it. "It's too early to say what the disease is, but there is no need to panic," the programme officer at WHO, Dr Desta Eiruneh, told IRIN. According to the Namibian, a local daily newspaper, the permanent secretary of health, Maggie Nghatanga, said the first case had been reported on 7 May in Aranos, a small town south of Windhoek, and the patient was still on ventilator support. Health officials have not yet been able to confirm the number of new cases, but Nghatanga promised that "every possible action, in terms of investigation, is being taken".