Congo on alert over mystery flu-like disease as death toll rises

Health officials in Congo have raised alarms over an unidentified flu-like illness that has killed at least 71 people in the southern Kwango province. The deaths, reported between November 10 and 25 in the Panzi health zone, include 27 patients who died in hospitals and 44 fatalities in the community.

Congolese Minister of Public Health Roger Kamba emphasized that it is still too early to determine the cause or transmission method of the disease. Speaking to reporters, he said: “It looks like a respiratory-type illness. I said: it looks like. We only received the alert four or five days ago, so don't think that in four or five days we can already identify the mode of transmission.”

Among the hospital fatalities, 10 were attributed to a lack of blood transfusions, while 17 succumbed to respiratory complications. The illness has affected approximately 380 people, nearly half of whom are children under the age of five. Symptoms reported include fever, headache, cough, and anemia.

Dr. Diedonne Mwamba, Director General of Congo’s National Institute of Public Health, noted that the region's vulnerability factors, such as high malnutrition rates of around 40% and a history of typhoid epidemics, complicate the situation. He stated: “We are really on maximum alert. We need to confirm through diagnostics the suspicions around whether it is a respiratory infection.”

The Panzi health zone, a remote area roughly 435 miles (700 kilometers) from the capital Kinshasa, poses logistical challenges for the ongoing investigation. Epidemiological experts are in the region collecting samples to identify the cause of the outbreak, with results expected in the coming days, according to Jean Kaseya, head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Meanwhile, Congo continues to battle an mpox epidemic, with more than 47,000 suspected cases and over 1,000 deaths, further straining the country's healthcare system.

Health officials have urged caution as investigations continue into the mystery illness.