Sounds like meningitis.
Sounds more like botulism with the blurry vision.
That was my guess, but I have other thoughts needing research first.
Here is another link about severe plagues covering 50 years in the 500s AD. Very detailed descriptions by Evagrius Scholasticus and Procopius. A lot of these descriptions sound like variants of Bubonic plague, especially a rapid septicemic form, but other descriptions seem different. Also these plagues occurred after a period of extended starvation which would have weakened immune symptoms. West Africa is certainly going through some difficult times with Ebola and Boko Haram, and the population may be unusually stressed.