A MYSTERY illness which causes patients to vomit blood has killed at least 15 in Tanzania, officials said.

More than 50 people have been hospitalised in the south of the country due to the unidentified condition which also causes nausea in sufferers.

Health officials said some patients, mostly men, died within hours of showing symptoms in the Mbeya region.

Felista Kisandu, Chief Medical Officer of the rural Chunya District in Mbeya, said a team of experts have been deployed to assess the patients and probe the cause of the outbreak.

She said: "This problem has not been widespread.

"It has happened in just a single administrative ward of Ifumbo where people vomit blood and die when they get to the hospital late.

"The cause of their illness has not been identified yet, but Tanzania's Health Ministry has ruled out an outbreak."

Kisandu said samples of local water and patients' blood are being tested by the government for traces of mercury contamination.

She said: "Initial clinical examinations revealed the patients, mostly men, suffered from stomach ulcers and liver disease.

"We have advised them to avoid drinking illicit brew, smoking cigarettes and other hard drinks."

However, following Dr Kisandu's statements on Saturday, the country's Health minister Dorothy Gwajika ordered her suspension yesterday.

Gwajika said the medical expert's remarks created "unnecessary panic" among locals.

She said: "For creating unnecessary panic among residents, I order Dr Felista Kisandu’s employer to suspend her in order to pave way for investigations by the Medical Council and submit the report to me within ten days."

Government officials said similar symptoms struck the region in 2018, when patients suffered from high fever, nausea and vomiting blood.

The Health Minister urged people to remain calm and promised to provide further updates soon.

This comes as the country's President John Magufuli claimed that Covid had been stopped in Tanzania due to the power of prayer.

He made the statement on January 9 - six weeks after his government stopped publicly updating virus data.

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