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Senegalese authorities are still trying to unravel the mysterious skin disease that has affected more than 1,000 fishermen for a week in the Dakar region, the Health Ministry said.
At present, the possibility of a contagious viral disease has been ruled out. The health of all the patients has improved and only one of the 1,004 who showed symptoms remains in the hospital, Minister Abdoulaye Diour Sar said at a press conference.
However, the cause of the evil is still unknown. The fishermen, in the photos posted by many local media and social networking sites, have blisters, sometimes of impressive size, on their faces and limbs. Abdou’s Environment Minister Karim Sal said that some kind of algae may be responsible for this skin condition.
“There is no secondary infection, that is (the disease) is not transmitted. “And there is no danger from consuming fish,” stressed the Minister of Health. “The results of the biological tests did not reveal the cause, but other investigations are being carried out,” he added.
The environment minister clarified that the analysis of the samples that were taken did not reveal any chemical or toxic contamination of the water or fish. Analysis of the algae is also expected since, according to the fishermen, the appearance of the disease coincided with an increase in algae in the area. The Sheikh Anta Diop University Poison Center in Dakar also plans to take fuel samples for fishing boats and nets used by fishermen.
Many fishermen are protesting why sales of their products have plummeted as messages have appeared on social media urging people not to eat fish for a while.
According to UN figures, fishing is an activity on which 53,000 jobs depend directly and another 540,000 indirectly in Senegal.
Source ΑΠΕ-Fuente
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