The Democratic Republic of the Congo is on alert after the sudden death of dozens of people due to a disease “of still unknown origin”as reported on Wednesday by WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic. Cases began to be detected at the end of October and local authorities are extremely concerned because the number of infected people continues to increase.
“We are working with national authorities to monitor information about the disease in order to understand the situation, and we have sent a team to the area to collect samples for laboratory investigations,” the WHO spokesperson told Efe.
There is still very little information known about this disease, but the first diagnoses suggest that it could be a respiratory diseaseaccording to Jean Kaseya, director of the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention. “But we have to wait for the laboratory results,” the expert said.
Detected cases
The Congolese Minister of Health, Roger Kamba, confirmed this Thursday that 71 people have died due to the disease, 27 in hospitals and 44 in the southern province of Kwango. Of those who died in hospitals, ten lost their lives due to lack of blood transfusions and 17 due to respiratory problems. However, it is estimated that the number of people affected may reach 380, of which half are children under five years old.
The figures provided by the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention are slightly different. According to the institution, the number of cases detected amounts to 376while the number of deaths stands at 79.
The cases began to be detected on October 24 in the province of Kwango, bordering Angola. The deaths, for their part, have occurred between November 10 and 25 in Panzi, a rural town in the aforementioned province in the southwest of the DR Congo.
Symptoms and precautionary measures
The symptoms of the disease are similar to those of the flu. These include fever, headaches, runny nose, cough, difficulty breathing and anemia. The people most affected by the disease are minors and women, according to what local epidemiologists have reported to the agency. Reuters.
The provincial health minister, Apollinaire Yumba, has recommended the population to exercise caution and avoid contact with dead bodies to prevent possible infections. Authorities have also urged people to wash their hands with soap and avoid crowds.
Yumba has also called on national and international organizations to send medical supplies to be able to face this health crisis. “It is important to note that the Panzi hospital lacks medications to confront this epidemic. We urgently need help,” a deputy from the town of Panzi told Top Congo Radio.
Difficult diagnosis
Anne Rimoin, an epidemiologist at the University of California who has worked in the Congo since 2002, told the network NBC Diagnosing the disease is complicated. This is due to the limited health infrastructure and health problems that affect the Congolese population such as malnutrition and malaria. “It could be anything. Influenza, Marburg, meningitis, measles. At this point we really don’t know,” said the expert on the disease.
Added to these problems is that the area where the disease has been detected is a remote area from the province of Kwango which is 700 kilometers from the capital. In fact, epidemiologists it took two days to arrive to the community to carry out the corresponding tests and the samples had to be sent to Kikwit, a city located more than 500 kilometers away, explained Dieudonne Mwamba, director of the National Institute of Public Health, in statements reported by the Associated Press.
Mwamba also recalled that Panzi is a particularly vulnerable area. 40% of its population suffers from malnutrition and two years ago the town had to face a typhoid fever epidemic. Added to this is the resurgence of the seasonal flu that is currently affecting the entire country.
Dr. Abraar Karan, an infectious disease doctor at Stanford University, recalled in statements to the aforementioned American television network that interactions between humans and animals are common in the Congo. This increases the risk of zoonosesthat is, pathogens that affect animals pass to humans. “Many animal infections that are transmitted from animals to humans can cause serious illnesses“he maintained.
Currently, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is also suffering from an outbreak of mpox (a disease formerly known as monkeypox) with more than 47,000 suspected cases and around a thousand deaths. Faced with this situation, the World Health Organization (WHO) was forced to declare an international emergency in August that is still in force.
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