“Up to January 26, we had twelve deaths. On Thursday, the death toll rose to 20, including two adults,” while “not a single adult had been affected” until then, said Paul Kouassi, president of a youth association in the village of Kpo-Kahankro, which is about 20 kilometers from the town of Bouaké. . The balance was confirmed by other villagers.
Kouassi added that the adult victims were two women, aged 60 and 70. They died in Bouaké hospital “after showing the same symptoms as the first victims”, namely vomiting and diarrhoea.
Incidentally, 33 other villagers were recently admitted to the intensive care unit with similar symptoms.
After the first deaths, several ministers already came to the village to evaluate the situation on site. It remains to wait for the results of analyzes that should clarify what is going on. Meanwhile, the villagers themselves believe that witchcraft is involved.