DUNEDIN, New Zealand, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- A mystery illness that killed three people in the mountainous and less populated South Island part of New Zealand has triggered a nationwide health alert.
The Wellington Dominion Post reported the illness struck the town of Dunedin recently. Three people each collapsed and then died an hour later in a space of two weeks.
Dr. Mace Ramsay at the Dunedin hospital said the victims, one man and two women, collapsed with little warning and all three had suffered hemorrhages in their lungs before they died.
One of the victims had previously visited a doctor for an influenza-like illness. Ramsay said he had only seen similar symptoms from snake bites.
Samples have being sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta for testing.
