Mystery illness kills more than 100 in southwest Congo

Mystery  illness kills more than 100  in southwest Congo
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Topline An  outbreak of an undiagnosed  illness in southwest Congo  that causes flu-like symptoms has infected more than 400 people since October, health officials said Sunday, and  is believed to have killed 143 people since October, disproportionately affecting children under  five, as health officials  struggle to  contain the disease in the remote  province of Kwango.
Highlights
Between October 24 and  December 5, the World Health Organization recorded 406 cases of the  illness, which causes fever, headache, cough,  runny nose and body aches, particularly affecting children under five and  women, the WHO said  Sunday.
Local authorities said the disease has killed 143 people, Bosmanbusinessworld reported  on today,  a much higher  number than the 31 deaths recorded by the  WHO. The most severe cases  include people  suffering from severe malnutrition, according to the WHO, which reports  that acute pneumonia, influenza, COVID-19, measles and malaria are considered  possible causative factors.
The isolated Panzi health zone, where the outbreak is located,  requires 48 hours to  travel from  Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of  Congo, hindering access to treatment and supplies, as well as  diagnostic and response efforts,  conditions exacerbated by the rainy  season. , WHO reported.
Initial diagnoses indicate  that it  may be a respiratory  illness, the director-general of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and  Prevention, Jean  Kaseya, told  The Associated  Press.
Key quotes
It's really important not to panic until we have more  information, Ann Rimoin, an epidemiologist at the University of California, Los  Angeles, told NBC News. "It could be  anything. . . it could be  the flu, it could be Ebola, it could be Marburg, it could be meningitis, it could be measles. At this point, we really  don't know. »
An important figure
64% That's the  percentage of cases  in children under 14, according to the WHO, which also  said that 60% of cases  involved women.
Key context
Local authorities and WHO have deployed rapid response teams to the Panzi health zone to conduct surveillance, epidemiological analysis and strengthen  access to health care. Meanwhile, food insecurity  is worsening in Kwango province,  moving from level 1,  the "acceptable"  classification of the integrated food security  phase, in April to crisis level 3 in September, the WHO  said. The disease appears to be transmissible as cases have been reported  in family units. WHO assesses a "high"  level of risk in affected communities, but a moderate level  nationally, as the outbreak is localized  in the Panzi health zone. WHO has called for  enhanced coordination at the national and local levels, including  improved communication infrastructure as  network coverage is limited in the affected areas.

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