Bajaur Agency: Tribesmen report 10 deaths from ‘mystery disease’

Doctors dismiss reports, attribute deaths to other ailments.

KHAR: Tribesmen in the Warra Mamond tehsil of Bajaur Agency claim that nearly 10 women have died over the last two or three days after contracting some mysterious disease while working in grazing fields.

Warra Mamond is located 15 kilometres from the agency’s headquarters Khar. Local tribesmen say the women felt pain in the upper parts of their body before they began bleeding from the mouth and nose. The women died within a few hours of presenting these symptoms.

However, the agency’s political agent said on Friday that medical teams sent to the area reported that no such deaths had taken place. Dr Alam Khan, a member of the team, told The Express Tribune that the deceased women suffered from diseases such as diabetes or experienced a Cerebral Vascular Accident (brain hemorrhage) amongst other ailments.

Dr Khan said an isolation ward has been set up for patients reporting these symptoms at the agency headquarters’ hospital in Khar; no patient has been admitted to the ward yet.

Dr Khan described the mysterious disease as a ‘phobia’. He added that medical teams are still surveying the area to investigate any possible causes for the disease and a comprehensive survey will be presented in the coming days.