An unknown disease with flu-like symptoms has killed at least 79 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the BBC. The unidentified disease has infected 300 people in DR Congo since November 10, causing flu-like symptoms including fever, headaches, coughing, breathing difficulties and anaemia, the country’s health ministry said. Most of the dead have been between the ages of 15 and 18, it added. In a statement on X, the ministry said the disease was of “still unknown origin” and had been detected in Kwango province in southwestern Congo.
Response teams have been sent to Kwango Province to manage cases and investigate the nature of the disease, the outlet reported. The government has urged citizens to stay calm and vigilant. They urged people to wash their hands with soap, avoid mass gatherings, and avoid touching the bodies of the deceased without qualified health personnel.
A World Health Organisation (WHO) Africa region official told BBC that they have “dispatched a team to the remote area to collect samples for lab investigations”. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has an office in Congo, said it is aware of the situation and is providing technical assistance to a rapid response team dispatched by a local emergency operations centre, as per NBC News.
Symphorien Manzanza, a civil society leader, said that the situation is worrying as the number of infected people continues to rise. “Panzi is a rural health zone, so there is a problem with the supply of medicines,” he said.
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Separately, a local MP said that about 67 people had fallen sick and died between November 10 and 26. “It should be noted that Panzi Hospital is short of medicines to cope with this epidemic. We really need assistance,” the MP said.
Notably, the latest outbreak comes amid a time when the central African country is also dealing with a severe outbreak of mpox. It also comes just before the fifth anniversary of the first recorded case of Covid-19 in Wuhan, China.
DR Congo has also dealt with bouts of Ebola over the years.
