Mysterious fever kills 23 in Guinea

A mysterious fever in Guinea's Forestiere region has left 23 people dead out of 34 cases being reported, a source from the West African country's Health Ministry told Xinhua on Wednesday. The fever was first declared in Macenta, 800 km from the capital Conakry, where 10 out of 14 patients died. It later spread to neighboring Gueckedou village, where the disease has claimed 13 lives out of the 20 cases. Authorities are still waiting for the results from the blood samples sent to laboratories by experts who are in the affected areas to determine the nature of the disease. According to the experts, the symptoms of the disease are similar to those of lassa fever, which include vomiting and blooding in the nose and anus.