'Unknown sickness' or mystery ailment has killed more than 50 people. What begins as a common fever or flu-like sickness quickly turns into a deadly condition. Due to the virus's fast spread, the World health Organization (WHO) has documented over 431 cases and issued an alert for the region.

According to WHO, reports of this ailment have come from the northwest Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which is racked by several humanitarian and public health problems.  IANS noted that the disease spreads quickly, with almost half of deaths in the Basankusu health Zone occurring within 48 hours of symptom onset and an exceptionally high case fatality rate in the Bolomba health Zone. "The outbreak, which has seen cases rise rapidly within days, poses a significant public health threat," the report said.
 
All About the Mystery Disease
Boloko village in the Bolomba health Zone reported the first cluster of illnesses and fatalities in January.  According to preliminary investigations, the outbreak started with three community fatalities of children under five who died after experiencing fever, headache, diarrhea, and exhaustion before bleeding out.  According to some sources, the kids had eaten a bat carcass before the symptoms appeared.
 
Symptoms of Mystery Disease
Fever
Vomiting
Internal Bleeding

What is concerning, according to Serge Ngalebato, medical director of Bikoro Hospital, is that, in the majority of instances, the time between the beginning of symptoms and death has been 48 hours.  The mysterious sickness is still poorly understood.
 
The WHO stated that testing has ruled out the Ebola and Marburg viruses, but it is still considering the possibility of meningitis, typhoid fever, food or waterborne poisoning, malaria, and viral hemorrhagic fevers, according to Xinhua news agency.

In late 2024, a "mysterious disease," subsequently diagnosed as severe malaria exacerbated by hunger, also struck the DRC's Kwango region in the southwest.  "The latest disease outbreak in the democratic republic of congo began on Jan. 21 with 419 cases recorded and 53 deaths," the New York Post reports.
 
This follows DRC's battle with "Disease X" the previous year.  The WHO reports that throughout the past ten years, the number of such outbreaks has grown by 60%.
 
 
 

 
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SIBY JEYYA

27/02/2025 08:38 AM