Unknown disease in Congo revealed to be severe malaria, health authorities say

CONGO - Democratic Republic of Congo’s health ministry said on Dec 17 that a

previously unidentified disease

circulating in the southwestern Kwango province is a severe form of malaria.

Earlier in December, local authorities said the disease had killed 143 people in the country’s Panzi health zone in November. The symptoms of the disease are fever, headache, cough, runny nose and body aches.

“The mystery has finally been solved. It’s a case of severe malaria in the form of a respiratory illness,” the health ministry said in a statement, adding malnutrition in the area had weakened the local population, leaving them more vulnerable to disease.

The statement also said that 592 cases had been reported since October, with a fatality rate of 6.2 per cent.

Provincial health minister, Mr Apollinaire Yumba, told Reuters that anti-malaria medicine provided by the World Health Organisation was being distributed in the main hospital and health centres in the the Panzi health zone.

A WHO spokesperson said more health kits for moderate and critical cases were due to arrive on Dec 18.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said last week that 10 early samples from patients in Congo suffering from a mystery illness had tested positive for

malaria

, but that he had not not ruled out the possibility that they suffered from other concurrent diseases. REUTERS