In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)the country located in the equatorial region of Africa, there was a sprout of a disease not identified so far. Of killed at least 143 people. Women and children are the most affected.
The symptoms are similar to those of the flu: high fever, headache, cough and anemia, according to reports from the Provincial Health Office of that country. The outbreak has developed in the province of Congolocated in the southwest of the DRC. The deaths occurred between November 10 and 25.
In dialogue with Infobae, Tarik Jašarevićspokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO)told what is known about the situation in the DRC.
“WHO is working with national authorities to follow up on reports of a unidentified disease and understand the situation. “We have sent a team to the area to collect samples for laboratory investigations,” he replied.
The deputy governor of Kwango, Remy Sakiconfirmed the number of deaths yesterday and assured that the numbers could continue to increase.
“Between 67 and 143 people have died,” he stated in a conversation with the AP agency. Although the outbreak has not yet been completely identified, the first cases emerged in the Panzi health zone, a rural region that faces serious difficulties in accessing medicines.
Apollinaire Houseprovincial Minister of Health, explained that the symptoms of those affected include fever, headache and cough, which are combined with episodes of anemia.
In a press conference, Yumba urged the population to be cautious, especially regarding the handling of the bodies of the deceaseddue to risk of contagion. “I recommend avoiding contact with corpses to prevent transmission,” he said.
The situation has been described as alarming due to the speed with which the disease spreads, he said. Cephorien Manzanzaleader of civil society in the region.
He also pointed out that the lack of access to medical care worsened the crisis, causing many of the victims to die in their homes. Manzanza emphasized that the local health infrastructure is not sufficient to deal with the outbreak.
To investigate the origin of the disease, Congolese authorities have deployed a team of epidemiology experts to the region. The team will take care of collect samples and perform analysis to try to identify the responsible pathogen.
“The arrival of a team of epidemiological experts who will take samples to identify the problem is expected,” said the lieutenant governor.
consulted by Infobaethe doctor Myrtle Rosesformer director of the Pan American Health Organizationcommented: “With the limited information in the alerts, it would appear to be a new outbreak of the disease due to ebola virus. It’s just a hypothesis. There were other outbreaks of that disease before in that country.”
He International Health Regulations It allows the active search for rumors and not just official information to give alerts and send questions and information requests to the liaison point in each country.
Since this change was made in the regulations, “early detection of outbreaks and the reaction for immediate investigation and follow-up have increased,” said Roses. “It was done with the intention of better protecting the population, identifying the cause and triggering the necessary measures for its containment.”
The epidemic in the DRC occurs in a complicated context. The country faces a mpox outbreak (simian smallpox). According to WHO data, the country has registered more than 47,000 suspected cases and more than 1,000 deaths attributable to this disease. This situation has generated great pressure on the country’s health system.
He Congolese Ministry of Healthin coordination with WHO, called on national and international partners to send emergency medical supplies to address the growing public health crisis.
On August 14, the Director General of the WHO declared that the mpox outbreak in the DRC and a growing number of African countries was a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) under the framework of the Health Regulations.
In 2022 there was another similar declaration due to this disease. This year 2024, the appearance and rapid spread of a new strain of the virus clade 1b in the DRC, its detection in neighboring countries and the possibility of its continued spread outside the continent were important factors for the mpox infection to be once again considered a PHEIC.
