Congo Sees 406 Cases of Mysterious Illness, 31 Fatalities: WHO Report
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New Delhi, Dec 9 (NationPress) The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has documented 406 instances of a mysterious illness between October 24 and December 5, as reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday.
The Congo Ministry of Public Health alerted the WHO regarding a surge in fatalities from an unknown cause in the Panzi health zone on November 29.
In response, the global health organization dispatched experts to the Panzi health zone in DRC’s Kwango Province to examine the outbreak, which is presenting symptoms such as fever, headache, cough, runny nose, and body ache.
According to the WHO, “All severe cases were reported to be severely malnourished.”
The agency further stated that “31 fatalities have been recorded,” with 71 percent of these cases occurring in individuals under the age of 15.
The WHO highlighted that the majority of reported cases have been among children, especially those younger than five years.
“The region is characterized as rural and isolated, with access further complicated by the ongoing rainy season...and limited diagnostic facilities, which has postponed the identification of the root cause,” the WHO mentioned.
While the outbreak persists, the WHO has mobilized teams to gather samples for laboratory analysis. The outcomes are expected to yield a more comprehensive clinical characterization of the identified cases. Teams are also investigating the transmission dynamics and actively seeking new cases both within healthcare facilities and at the community level.
“Rapid response teams have been deployed to ascertain the cause of the outbreak and enhance the response,” the WHO declared.
The WHO suspects potential causal factors such as acute pneumonia, influenza, Covid-19, measles, and malaria, with malnutrition playing a contributory role.
“Laboratory testing is currently in progress to pinpoint the exact cause,” the UN agency stated, adding that “more than one disease” may be responsible for the reported cases and fatalities.
