L’“the most probable hypothesis (..) is malaria” against a backdrop of malnutrition, declared, during a briefing to the press by videoconference, Doctor Ngashi Ngongo, chief of staff of the Africa CDC, whose headquarters is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
He said the health agency is still awaiting the results of an investigation. The thesis of a “viral hemorrhagic disease” occurring “against a background of malaria”endemic in the area, particularly during the rainy season, has not been ruled out, he added.
The cases of this “febrile illness of unknown etiology” have been reported in the Panzi region, in the south-west of the DRC, which is difficult to access via an impassable road and where health infrastructure is almost non-existent. The population lives in general precariousness, suffering from a lack of access to drinking water and medicine.
The region, which already experienced a serious epidemic of typhoid fever two years ago, according to the Congolese authorities, has one of the highest malnutrition rates in the country (61%).
“An unknown public health event”
In health centers, 37 deaths attributed to this mysterious illness were recorded, the Africa CDC said, out of 592 cases. Some 44 other deaths were also reported at the community level, which remain under investigation.
“An unknown public health event” detected since October 24 “already caused the death of 27 people out of a total of 382 people affected”announced the National Institute of Public Health of the DRC at the beginning of the month.
According to the first available data, the mysterious illness particularly affected the youngest, with 40% of cases involving children under five years old. The symptoms are similar to those of the flu: fever, cough and headache.
The DRC has already been hit hard in recent months by the mpox virus, with more than 1,000 deaths. The epicenter of this epidemic, the country, among the poorest on the planet, began a vaccination campaign at the beginning of October.
