An outbreak of a mysterious disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo, causing fever, body weakness, and difficulty breathing in hundreds, has been identified. Initial delays in reaching affected villages due to difficult terrain hampered investigations. Tests finally revealed the outbreak to be caused by a combination of respiratory infections, malaria, and malnutrition.
, international alarm bells went off because of a mysterious disease circulating in a remote part of the Democratic Republic of Congo . The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention dubbed itNational and international health experts raced to the scene. But because the rainy season made dirt roads hard to pass, it took days to get from the capital Kinshasa to villages in the Panzi district in Kwango Province, located in the south of the vast country.
On December 27, WHO announced the results from 430 samples: The outbreak was caused by a familiar enemy — or, more accurately, multiple familiar enemies. Patients had acute respiratory infections — think COVID, flu or rhinoviruses — complicated by malaria as well as widespread malnutrition.
There's another lesson to draw from this outbreak, he says:"Unusual manifestations of common diseases may be more likely than unusual diseases themselves." Indeed, during this outbreak, global health experts debated the best way to refer to the situation, wondering whether the disease should be described as"unknown" or simply"undiagnosed" — and whether the name"Disease X" was too alarmist.
Disease Outbreak Congo Malaria Respiratory Infections Malnutrition
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'Mystery disease' in Congo turned out to be malaria — and potentially, another diseaseNicoletta Lanese is the health channel editor at Live Science and was previously a news editor and staff writer at the site. She holds a graduate certificate in science communication from UC Santa Cruz and degrees in neuroscience and dance from the University of Florida.
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