Mysterious Disease Kills Dozens in Congo

Mysterious Disease Kills Dozens in Congo

Health officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo have reported an outbreak of a mysterious illness that has claimed 79 lives and infected 376 people as of Tuesday. The disease, of unknown origin, was first detected in Kwango province, located in southwestern Congo.

Symptoms and Warnings

Reported symptoms of the disease include fever, headache, nasal congestion, cough, difficulty breathing, and anemia. Local authorities have cautioned that the death toll could be as high as 143. The Ministry of Public Health has advised people not to handle the remains of those who have died of similar symptoms without proper authorization. They also urge the reporting of any suspicious illnesses or unusual deaths.

Government and International Response

Emergency public health officials have been dispatched to the affected region. The World Health Organization (WHO) is also aware of the outbreak and is working with local authorities. “We have dispatched a team to the remote area to collect samples for lab investigations,” said WHO spokesperson Tarik Jašarević. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is providing technical assistance to a rapid response team sent by a local emergency operations center. Dr. Abraar Karan, an infectious disease physician at Stanford Medicine, highlights the concern raised by the outbreak’s location. “Interactions between humans and wildlife in Congo increase the risk of a pathogen spilling over from animals,” he said.

Diagnostic Challenges

Diagnosing the illness may be challenging due to limited health care infrastructure and underlying health conditions such as malaria and malnutrition in the population, according to Anne Rimoin, an epidemiologist at the University of California, Los Angeles. “At this point, we really just don’t know,” she said.

Identification Process

To identify the disease, local health officials will first screen for common illnesses like flu or malaria. If negative, they will test for less common pathogens. Genetic sequencing of tissue, blood, or bone marrow may also be employed.

Epidemiological Investigation

International teams on the ground will collect information on risk factors and contacts among infected individuals. “I think pretty quickly we’ll start to have an answer as to what this is,” said Amira Albert Roess, a professor of global health and epidemiology at George Mason University, noting the “a lot of deaths, especially in such a short amount of time, with the same types of symptoms.”