The World Health Organisation (WHO) has confirmed the existence of a mysterious disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo that has infected more than 400 people and killed more than 30, mostly children.
WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a briefing on December 10, 2024, that the organisation was informed about the outbreak about two weeks ago.
According to Tedros, 10 of the 12 initial samples from victims tested positive for malaria, suggesting that the patients may have been affected by more than one disease.
“It is possible that more than one disease is involved,” he said.
WHO officials said that they have deployed rapid response teams to identify the cause of the outbreak, first by collecting samples for laboratory testing, and that later on they will be providing a more detailed clinical characterisation of the detected cases and investigating the transmission dynamics.
Given the clinical presentation and symptoms reported and several associated deaths, acute pneumonia, influenza, COVID-19, measles, and malaria are being considered as potential causal factors, with malnutrition as a contributing factor.
“Malaria is a common disease in this area, and it may be causing or contributing to the cases. Laboratory tests are underway to determine the exact cause. At this stage, it is also possible that more than one disease is contributing to the cases and deaths,” they said.
The disease, which broke out earlier in October 2024 in the country’s Panzi health zone of Kwango Province, and the majority of cases reported from Tsakala Panzi, Makitapanzi, and Kanzangi health areas, exhibits flu-like disease symptoms, including headache, cough, fever, breathing difficulties, and anaemia.
A majority of the population amid the outbreak refers to the unknown illness as ‘Disease X,’ a term used to describe a previously unknown pathogen with the potential to cause a pandemic.
An overwhelming majority of 70% of the deceased came from children below the age of 15, with over half of those fatalities in children under five years old. Everyone who felt severely ill from the mysterious disease was also severely malnourished with weakened immunity.
As investigations continue into this mysterious disease, international health bodies, including Africa’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, and local health officials have been trying to respond to the M-Pox outbreak, which has claimed the lives of over 1,000 across Congo and neighbouring countries.
