‘Mysterious fever’ kills 2 of a family in Munshiganj

A woman and her nephew died following 'mysterious fever' at Jasaldia village in Louhajang upazila of Munshiganj on Monday, reports UNB.

The deceased were identified as Shamima Begum, 34, wife of Mir Jewel and Mir AbdurRahman, 3, son of Jewel's brother Mir Sohelof the village.

Mir Shiblu, brother-in-law of deceased Shamima, said Shamima complained of fever on Sunday morning and there were some red spots on her body.

She died at her house within an hour, he said.

Besides, Mir AbdurRahman also caught fever early Monday and died within an hour around 2:00am, he said.

Deputy commissioner Maniruzzaman Talukdar said a medical team was sent to the village to know the cause of their death.

Upazila health officer Shamim Ahmed said the civil surgeon was informed about the matter.

Visiting the house of the deceased upazila nirbahi officer Rasheduzzaman said, "They did not have symptoms of Coronavirus. We are investigating the deaths,"

Another team led by surveillance medical officer of World Health Organization (WHO) Sabinul Islam also started for the village from the district town.

Sazzad Hossain, OI and rapid response consultant of Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research, told UNB that they are collecting information and detail history of the deceased.

Soon, they will inform about the cause of the sudden death after examining the history, he added.

The death created panic among local people as deadly Coronavirus has caused at least 80 deaths in China while the Chinese authorities confirmed 2,744 cases by midnight Sunday. The disease has spread to other countries as well.

Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, is at the centre of the outbreak. Wuhan is in lockdown and China has imposed travel bans on a number of other cities.

At least 44 cases have been confirmed outside China but there have been no deaths outside China.

Coronavirus causes a severe acute respiratory infection but there is no specific cure or vaccine. Most of the deaths have been of elderly people or those with pre-existing respiratory problems.