Mysterious disease attacks more than 400 people in African country

More than 400 people were infected by an as-yet-unidentified disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to information released by the World Health Organization (WHO) last Sunday.

The outbreak, which mainly affects children and malnourished individuals, prompted the WHO to send a team of experts to the Panzi health zone in Kwango province in the southwest of the country.

Reported symptoms include fever, headache, cough, runny nose and body aches, and the disease has now reached nine of the 30 areas in the Panzi health zone.

Between October 24 and December 5, 406 cases were recorded, resulting in 31 deaths. The WHO classifies the risk to residents of the region as “moderate” to “high”, while the risk to the international community remains “low”.

The situation is worsened by the shortage of health professionals in the region, which makes early diagnosis of the disease difficult. The affected area is rural and difficult to access, especially during the current rainy season, as highlighted by the UN agency. All serious cases were individuals with severe malnutrition.

Conflicts in reporting the number of fatalities continue, with the DRC Ministry of Health last week reporting 376 infected and 79 deaths. Experts also suggest that malaria, prevalent in the region, may be influencing the outbreak, indicating the possibility of multiple diseases contributing to the crisis.

Apollinaire Yumba, Provincial Minister of Health, advised residents to avoid direct contact with the deceased to prevent the spread of the disease. Cephorien Manzanza, a civil society leader, described the situation as dire due to the lack of medicines in the area.

Nicaise Ndembi, senior consultant at the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), in an interview with Euronews, stated that the organization is collaborating with local authorities to investigate the nature of the outbreak.

This health crisis comes at a time when the DRC is already facing other challenges, including an outbreak of the Mpox virus, with more than 47,000 suspected cases and more than 1,000 deaths reported by the WHO.

With information from RT