The epidemic reportedly began at the end of October. There have already been dozens of victims in just a few weeks. The area in which the unknown infection developed has been circumscribed by a sanitary cordon: population movements are limited and the inhabitants have been asked to wear protective masks. The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo is “on alert” about the unknown, flu-like disease that has hit the southwestern region of the country, particularly communities in Kwango province. This was stated during a meeting with the press by Public Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba, who confirmed over 70 deaths, including “27 people who died in hospitals and 44 in the community in the southern province of Kwango”. The invitation of the local authorities is not to touch the corpses, to avoid the spread of other infections.
For the moment, 71 deaths have been officially confirmed, but local authorities’ estimates indicate between 67 and 143 deaths recorded in November in the rural area of Panzi, in the province of Kwango. A team of epidemiologist experts sent by the World Health Organization (WHO) is already at work in the region, taking samples and attempting to identify the pathogen.
The victims of the unknown disease
“Compared to the victims in hospitals, 10 died due to lack of blood transfusions and 17 due to respiratory problems”, added the Minister of Public Health of the African country. According to the minister “there have been approximately 380 cases in total” of this unknown disease, “almost half of which involved children under the age of 5”. “We are on maximum alert, we believe that this is a level of epidemic that we must monitor”, underlined Minister Kamba at a press conference on Thursday 5 December.
According to the data available at the moment, the victims are concentrated in the rural area of Panzi, a region about 700 kilometers south-east of the capital Kinshasa. Here hospitals are almost non-existent and the local population lives in a situation of precariousness and poverty, also due to the lack of access to drinking water and medicines.
The first checks on flights from Africa
As a precautionary measure, Hong Kong is the first country to introduce controls on some flights from Africa. There are currently no direct flights between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Hong Kong, but health authorities have intensified screening at the airport for passengers from the African country transiting through other airports, such as Johannesburg in South Africa and Addis Ababa in Ethiopia.
What are the symptoms
The disease affects the respiratory system, but experts have ruled out that it could be Covid. Anyone infected with this virus, whose origin is currently unknown, has a clinical picture similar to the flu: high fever, headache, persistent cough. But among the symptoms there would also be severe anemia, the reduction of red blood cells and hemoglobin in the blood which leads to reduced oxygenation in the blood itself.
What Burioni and Bassetti say
The virologist Roberto Burioni also spoke on the epidemic. On they move very quickly.” “Let’s hope for the best because the last time Ebola arrived from Congo. It seems that the symptoms are similar to the flu. The WHO is moving and we still have to understand well, maybe it’s nothing to worry about”, said Matteo Bassetti , expert in infectious diseases.
An unknown disease of probable infectious origin has killed 79 people in Congo. Strange clinical picture (anemia!), I don’t like it. Please don’t panic, but be careful.
In the modern world viruses – as we have seen – move very quickly. pic.twitter.com/6yY2z6tShs— Roberto Burioni (@RobertoBurioni) December 5, 2024
In the past few hours, the Ministry of Health of Congo, through the National Institute of Public Health (NSP) and the Operations Center for Public Health Emergencies (Cousp), “sent an intervention team to the area affected by the epidemic” of mysterious illness. The objective is “the immediate treatment of reported cases – reports a note from the ministry -, collect samples from patients for laboratory analysis, conduct in-depth investigations in the field to identify the nature of this disease. The results of the laboratory analyzes will be communicated as soon as they are available and periodic updates will be given to the population”.