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The patients complained of purulent acne, eye irritation, and intense itching all over the body. The governor of the country’s capital region, Al Hassan Sall, said 82 people were initially known to be infected, but later there were reports of at least 200 victims.
In Senegal, West Africa, more than 200 fishermen have contracted an unknown disease. They could have picked it up on the high seas, writes the Senegalese newspaper Sud Quotidien on November 19, citing the governor of the country’s capital region, Al Hassan Sallah.
The patients had purulent acne on the face, swollen lips. They felt irritated eyes and severe itching all over their bodies. One of the patients suggested that he could contract the disease from contact with seawater, where toxic products were thrown.
Al Hassan Sall said that at first 82 people were known to have been infected, but then the number of patients increased to at least 200. According to him, the relevant departments are going to take water samples where fishermen could become infected.
Senegal’s Ministry of Fisheries and Maritime Affairs explained to the newspaper that the zirconium is mined near the site of detection of the disease. There are companies from the chemical industry and oil fields are being explored.
Another Senegalese newspaper, Le Soleil, writes that injured fishermen were the most affected by body parts that came into contact with ocean water. They came from the cities of Lompoul, St. Louis, and Fass Boye.
The president of the National Union of Fishermen of Senegal, Mustafa Diop, told the newspaper at least 305 infected.
All patients with similar symptoms, according to the daily Dacar Actu, are isolated in the coastal town of Rufisk. A high seas area is suspected nearby.
