The Nigerian government has spoken on the strange killer disease in Benue State.

Osagie Ehanire, Minister of Health, said the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) was working hard to unravel the mystery.

Ehanire said this at a ministerial briefing in Abuja on Friday.

The minister stated that the illness had been laboratory tested and showed no symptoms of Ebola, Lassa fever or coronavirus.

The minister said that NCDC had activated an Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) to coordinate response activities in conjunction with Federal Medical Centre in Makurdi to ascertain the nature of the illness.

He advised Nigerians to contact NCDC immediately on its toll-free number on – 0800-970000-10 to report strange cases.

The disease symptoms include headache, internal heat, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach ache, weakness of the body and swollen stomach.

The illness broke out in Oyi-Obi community on Wednesday, January 29, 2020, and has killed 15 people.

The first victims – Happiness Ogbu, Onah Ogbedu, Wisdom Agwo and Andy Edu – all died alike within 48 hours of contact.

Currently, the number of persons affected has exceeded 100.