At least 67 people have died in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the past two weeks due to a still unexplained illness, according to health authorities. Children up to the age of 15 are particularly affected.
Teams of medical experts who have visited affected towns in the country’s southwest since Tuesday have found two more villages where at least 60 deaths have been recorded, Kwango province’s health minister, Apollinaire Yumba, said.
Nearly 400 people with complaints
In recent days, a team of epidemiologists traveled to the Panzi region of Kwango to help doctors treat patients and determine what type of disease they are dealing with. According to Yumba, 382 people have been registered with symptoms of the disease so far.
Fever, headache, breathing problems
Currently, little is known about the disease, which mainly affects children up to 15 years of age. Symptoms include fever, headache, breathing problems and anemia. In addition to taking samples, the medical experts tried to call on the population to take hygiene and distancing measures. It is not yet known whether the disease can be transmitted only through physical contact or through other routes.
Great fear of infection
Until researchers can get results, people in the affected region should follow strict hygiene rules by washing their hands regularly, avoiding large gatherings and keeping their distance, the report said. A doctor in Panzi told the German news agency (dpa) that many residents were very scared. Many no longer dared to leave their homes for fear of infection.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is also currently facing other challenges to its healthcare system: the outbreak of Mpox disease has been straining medical staff and the few testing laboratories for months.
More than 47,000 cases of Mpox
More than 47,000 cases have been recorded in the country since the start of the year, although only a relatively small proportion of these could be officially confirmed due to a lack of testing capacity.
Source: Krone
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