WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said the “current
hypothesis is cause of the event is herbicides”.
“Tests done so far are negative for viral and
bacterial infection,” he added.
The victims began showing symptoms early last
week in what Ondo state spokesman Kayode
Akinmade called a “mysterious disease”,
prompting fears of a new infectious disease
outbreak in a region ravaged by Ebola.

The victims, whose symptoms included headache,
weight loss, blurred vision and loss of
consciousness, died within a d
ay of falling ill in
the town of Ode-Irele, in southwestern Ondo
state.
The Ondo state health commissioner, Dayo
Adeyanju, told AFP news agency on Saturday that
23 people had been affected.
Akinmade said health officials and experts from
the government and aid agencies, as well as WHO
epidemiologists, had arrived in Ode-Irele to
investigate the deaths.
The tests were carried out at the Lagos University
Teaching Hospital, the WHO said.
Meanwhile the Oyewoga of Ode-Irele, High Chief
Moses Enimade, denied the rumour that the
deaths of people were caused by a strange
ailment or Ebola rather that it was the sacrilege
done to Molokun, god of the land by the youths.