Officials in Africa urge caution as an unknown disease has killed 71 people in recent weeks in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
According to the DRC’s Ministry of Public Health, Hygiene and Social Security, the disease was first detected in October in the Kwango province in the southwestern part of the Congo. Jean Kaseya, the head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, told reporters that more information regarding the unknown disease should become known as scientists study samples from infected people.
“First diagnostics are leading us to think it is a respiratory disease,” said Kaseya. “But we need to wait for the laboratory results.” Kaseya also mentioned that many aspects of the disease, such as how it is transmitted and whether or not it is infectious, are unknown.
According to DRC Health Minister Roger Kamba, authorities have confirmed 27 deaths in hospitals and 44 deaths in communities in the southern Kwango province of the Congo.
“The Congolese government is on general alert regarding this disease,” said Kamba.
Unknown disease spreads in the Congo as officials rush to solve the mystery
Health Minister Kamba said that there have been 380 cases of the mystery disease reported so far. Half of the cases reported were children under five years old. However, the Africa CDC has reported 376 cases and 79 deaths. Kaseya said that the marginal difference is due to issues with case definition and monitoring.
“At the current stage, we cannot speak of a large-scale epidemic,” said Kamba.
The disease’s symptoms are similar to the flu, as patients present with fever, headache, cough, and, in some cases, anemia. As health officials and scientists conduct thorough investigations into the Congo’s unknown disease, they are warning people to be careful. Local health authorities have advised people to maintain their hygiene, wash their hands, and avoid large gatherings.
“The disease resembles a respiratory disease but it is difficult to talk about how it is transmitted before the results of the analysis of the collected samples,” said Kamba.
While epidemiologists hurry to collect samples of the disease, the zone where cases of the disease have been reported, the Panzi health zone, is in a remote part of the Kwango region of the DRC. According to the AP, the zone is located about 435 miles from the capital city of Kinshasa, making access difficult for researchers trying to do their part to solve the mystery.
“The health system is quite weak in our rural areas, but for certain types of care, the ministry has all the provisions, and we are waiting for the first results of the sample analysis to properly calibrate things,” said Kaseya.
The unknown disease comes as the Congo struggles to handle the monkeypox epidemic that has killed around 1,000 and infected an estimated 47,000 according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
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