WHO joins in investigation of undiagnosed disease in DRC

Kinshasa, DRC | THE INDEPENDENT | The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed an outbreak of a strange disease in the neighbouring DR Congo noting that they have not yet identified its cause due to among others limited diagnostics and poor road network.

The organization notes in its latest statement that the undiagnosed disease that presents with symptoms of fever, headache, cough, runny nose and body ache had affected 406 people in the Panzi health zone of Kwango province by December 5th. cases of the strange disease started being identified in mid-October.

“All severe cases were reported to be severely malnourished. Among the cases, 31 deaths have been registered. The majority of cases reported are among children, particularly those under five years of age”, the statement reads in part.

However, according to information shared at a press briefing held by DRC’s Ministry of Health last week, these figures do not include deaths that happened in the community as the country had not yet been characterized and verified.

WHO says they have now deployed rapid response teams to identify the cause of the outbreak, first by collecting samples for laboratory testing and that later on they will be providing a more detailed clinical characterization of the detected cases and investigating the transmission dynamics.

Given the clinical presentation and symptoms reported, and several associated deaths, acute pneumonia, influenza, COVID-19, measles and malaria are being considered as potential causal factors with malnutrition as a contributing factor.

“Malaria is a common disease in this area, and it may be causing or contributing to the cases. Laboratory tests are underway to determine the exact cause. At this stage, it is also possible that more than one disease is contributing to the cases and deaths”, WHO notes.

Information from DRC’s Ministry of Health shows that 96% of all cases experienced a fever and a running nose is the least seen symptom appearing in 57.8% of those affected. The main symptoms associated with death include difficulty in breathing, anaemia, and signs of acute malnutrition.

Based on the current context of the affected area and the broad presentation of symptoms, experts say several suspected diseases need to be ruled out through further investigations and laboratory testing. These include but are not limited to measles, influenza, acute pneumonia (respiratory tract infection), COVID-19, and malaria.

*****

URN