MONROVIA, April 25 (Xinhua) -- The Liberian government confirmed seven people were dead on Tuesday following a "strange illness" that hit Sinoe County in the country's southeastern region.
Health Ministry spokesman Sorbor George said five persons had died earlier in the day while two other victims of the yet-to-be identified illness died later.
Local media reported that all the victims suffered severe stomach pain before succumbing to death, adding health authorities in the Sinoe County had already isolated all those who came in contact with the dead.
The health ministry said blood specimens from the deceased had been sent to the medical laboratory to ascertain the cause of their death and identify the disease itself.
An emergency meeting of health officials has been called to discuss "the strange deaths", George told reporters.
Liberia was in 2014 struck by the Ebola Virus Disease which claimed an estimated 4,500 lives in the country alone.
