United States: A mysterious flu-like disease which has already killed 143 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo over the past month. The disease has spread or scattered mainly in the southwestern province of Kwango, where at least 376 people who have already been infected since late October. Health officials are “on alert” as they try to control the outbreak.
Reuters reported that those infected developed flu-like symptoms and some of them had high fever and severe headaches. The disease seems to have worse impact on women and children; people over the age of fifteen are most affected.
Deputy provincial governor Rémy Saki said that a team of epidemiological experts will come to the area to take samples and conduct a further look for the cause.
As reported by the USA Today, Scientists in the country reported the outbreak to the World Health Organization last week, says the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.
As authorities race to identify the disease, the research center has been combating another infectious outbreak: mpox. The country recorded over 14,000 mpox cases and 650 deaths in 2023, which had the highest data in the WHO African region described by the agency.
Mpox situation at May 2024, the case total up to 7999 while death related to mpox reached to 380.
The health ministry said that if anybody has died like that, then the concerned body part should not be touched without the involvement of legal health care authorities and requested the public to inform about any sudden sickness or death.
The office also recommended refraining from crowded places and maintaining very basic hygiene measures, such as the use of soapy water when washing hands.
Emergency public health officials have been dispatched to the affected region, said the ministry.
The WHO legendary channel of world health announced to NBC News that it has information about a mysterious disease and is collaborating with the authorities.
“We have sent a team to the affected region to collect samples that will help in an analysis,” WHO’s Tarik Jašarević said in an email.
Officials with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has an office in Congo, said it is aware of the latest situation and is supporting a technical response team from the local emergency operations center that has been activated.