2 family members die of unknown disease in Thakurgaon

Two members of a family have died of an unidentified disease at Sangaon village in Thakurgaon's Baliadangi upazila in the last three days.

The deceased are Mina Begum, 35, wife of Hafijul Islam, and Pashina Begum, 40, Hafijul's sister-in-law.

The common symptom of the disease is vomiting, reports our local correspondent quoting Civil Surgeon Md Mahfuzar Rahman.

Three other family members -- Hafijul's mother Hajera Khatun, 54, sister Tanjina Akhter, 14, and younger brother's wife Aleya Akhter, 30 -- were hospitalised with similar symptoms, the civil surgeon said.

The disease could not be identified, said Abul Kasem, medical officer of Baliadangi Upazila Health Complex. He added that Mina and Pashina did not have fever.

A local medical team led by Mahfuzar visited the village and informed that another team from Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) in Dhaka is expected to reach Thakurgaon this evening.

The four-member IEDCR team will start work to identify the disease from tomorrow morning, the civil surgeon said.

Mina's family members said that she had fallen sick and died at home on Friday night.

The following night, Pashina fell sick and was taken to Baliadangi Upazila Health Complex where she received primary treatment and returned home, but died in the early hours on Sunday, medical officer Abul Kasem said.

Later on Sunday, Hajera, Tanjina and Aleya fell sick and were admitted to Thakurgaon Sadar Hospital, where they have been undergoing treatment.