Health officials are racing to identify the origin of a deadly disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, putting the local government on “high alert.” Dozens of people are dead as they experience flu-like symptoms in the Central African country as officials wait for lab results.
In a press conference on Thursday, Dec. 5, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said that in the next 48 hours, experts should have more details about the outbreak. Right now, preliminary tests point to a respiratory disease.
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Jean Kaseya leads Africa’s CDC, saying, “There are so many things we don’t know.”
Congo authorities are confirming the unknown illness has killed 71 people. Those people developed flu-like symptoms including fever, severe headache and respiratory issues. According to Health Minister Roger Kamba, 27 people have died in hospitals, and another 44 died within the community.
Africa’s CDC said deaths have been reported during a 15-day period in November.
Hundreds of people are still falling sick. Almost half of cases are being tied to children under the age of five.
A statement on X by the Ministry of Public Health, Hygiene and Social Security reveals the unknown illness was tracked and detected to a remote area in a southwestern province of Congo. The World Health Organization dispatched a team of epidemiologists to collect samples for lab analysis.
International teams are working in unison to rule out common illnesses before moving to other pathogens. They’re also gathering risk factors that those infected have in common at the same time.
Kaseya said the disease is plaguing Panzi, a zone already considered fragile in terms of health care infrastructure and lack of resources. He noted that pairs with 40% of residents in the Kwango province already deal with malnutrition.
The Congo’s health minister is urging the public to avoid contact with dead bodies to reduce the risk of contamination. Kamba also called on other countries to send in more medical supplies as the country deals with the health crisis.
A local leader in Panzi said the hospital where people are being treated is not equipped with the proper medicine to fight against symptoms. Traditional practitioners are treating patients.
The unidentified illness comes as officials are still dealing with an mpox epidemic in the Central African country. So far, health officials have reported more than 1,000 deaths. Another 47,000 others are suspected to be infected with the disease.
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