Lab Results Expected Soon Regarding Mysterious Illness in DRC

Lab tests on a mysterious illness circulating in a remote part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are expected back within the next 24 to 48 hours, according to the country’s health ministry. CIDRAP has the news.

During an Africa CDC briefing, the country’s director-general of the National Institute of Public Health, Dieudonne Mwamba, stated that “the outbreak began on October 24 in Panzi Health Zone in a remote landlocked area of Kwango province, which is in southwestern DRC about 400 miles from Kinshasa, the country's capital.” This outbreak comes in a country already “grappling with multiple disease outbreaks,” including mpox.

Symptoms reported include “fever, headaches, coughing, breathing difficulty, and anemia. So far 376 cases have been reported, 79 of them fatal, according to Africa CDC's total.”

The most affected group thus far has been children younger than 5 years old, “who account for more than half of cases and the largest portion of deaths.” No testing capacity is available in Panzi Health Zone.

Mwamba also said that the illness seems to be an airborne disease. It’s not clear to this point whether the diseases is “new or something officials know about that has circulated earlier.”