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Liberian
man 38, died of mystery cause Trenton,
NJ. A Liberian man, Joseph S. Ghoson, 38, of Trenton, died last Saturday
of a mystery illness at Mercer Hospital in Trenton four days after
returning from Liberia. Shortly
after he was pronounced dead, family sources alleged that he was poisoned
in Liberia. “They poison his drink but his spirit has gone back to take
revenge on those who did this to him,” one man said consoling the
grieving the families. According
to sources and those who saw him at the hospital before his death, his
skin turned dark and his stomach swelled up. “My brother was poison and
Killed,” said his brother Wahid Ghoson, the assumption many Liberians in
Trenton have. Upon
arrival at Mercer Hospital in Trenton, doctors could not immediately
determine the cause of Ghoson's illness. He
arrived from Liberia suffering from a chronic stomach pain. “Initial
diagnosis was not clear, but it could be either typhoid or malaria,”
said Dr. Nick Karabulut, an Infectious Disease Specialist at Mercer
Hospital. Doctors
said shortly after arriving at the Liberty International Airport in
Newark, he complained about sore throat, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting
and diarrhea. His condition continues to deteriorate until his death. Two
days later, New Jersey Health officials called in the Center for Disease
Control who confirmed that he died from Lassa fever. The CDC said that
Lassa fever is rare in the U.S, “The disease is endemic to West Africa.
The last case of Lassa fever seen in the U.S was in 1989, and New Jersey
State officials have not been confronted with the disease in more than two
decays,” Dr. Clifton Lacy said. Ghoson
death called the attention of local newspapers. The Trentonian carried the
headline, “African virus kills Mercer man.” While others wrote
editorials warning people about the symptoms of Lassa fever. Local
televisions station in Trenton flashed “Breaking News” on the death of
the Liberian man. However,
despite the CDC report, many Liberian still maintain that he was poisoned.
“My men the doctors don’t know the cause of the man death they just
lying to us here,” one Trenton resident who prefers not to mention his
name said. A
comment in the Trentonian said that rat is a food source in Liberia. The
article warned that, “Preparing an infected rat for food can cause a
person to be infected.” “The
virus is spread to humans by contact with rat urine and dropping. The
virus can be spread through direct contact with these materials, by eating
food contaminated with these materials, through cuts or sores,” a
warning from NJ Health Officials in the Trentonian said. |
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