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Authorities say the mysterious disease that has killed 143 people in Congo is severe malaria; Know everything about it
The previously unknown disease, known as Disease X in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), is a severe form of malaria, the country’s health ministry has announced. The disease, which is spreading in southwestern Kwango province, presents as a respiratory illness, health officials said. At least 143 people died in the country’s Panji health region in November as fears of a mysterious disease grew.
People who got malaria infection showed symptoms like headache, fever, cough and body ache.
After weeks of being dubbed Disease severe malaria,
“The mystery has finally been solved,” Congo’s health ministry said in a statement Tuesday. “This is a case of severe malaria in the form of a respiratory disease.”
The health agency said malnutrition in the hardest-hit area in Kwango province, 435 miles southeast of the capital Kinshasa, where the infection spread, had weakened the immunity of the local population, making them more vulnerable to the disease. Are. People who got malaria infection showed symptoms like headache, fever, cough and body ache.
Congo’s health minister, Roger Kamba, said at a press conference that the country was on “maximum alert” over the spread of the previously unknown disease. The lack of diagnosis as well as the remoteness of the epicenter of the outbreak made it extremely difficult for authorities to launch an appropriate response.
At least 592 cases were reported after Congo’s health ministry first issued an alert in late October, with the disease’s fatality rate at 6.25 percent. According to the World Health Organization, more than half of the recorded deaths were children under the age of five, who were severely malnourished when they contracted the disease.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said 10 out of 12 samples from patients suffering from the mystery illness had tested positive for malaria, but added that they were still testing for other diseases.
What is severe malaria?
Severe malaria usually occurs due to delay in treating simple malaria. According to experts, this stage of the disease is defined by clinical or laboratory evidence. vital organ dysfunction,
Almost all deaths from severe malaria are due to infection P. falciparumAlthough P. vivax And P. knowlesi Can also cause serious illness. Symptoms of severe malaria include:
- diminished consciousness or coma
- recovery
- circulatory collapse or shock
- Pulmonary edema, acute respiratory distress syndrome or ARDS
- Acidosis
- acute kidney injury
- abnormal bleeding or disseminated intravascular coagulation
- Jaundice is accompanied by at least one other symptom
- Severe anemia with hemoglobin less than 7 g/dL
An increase in malaria cases is seen during the rainy season
According to WHO, Congo has faced outbreaks of diseases in recent years including typhoid, malaria and anemia, as well as an outbreak of mpox, with more than 47,000 suspected cases and more than 1,000 suspected deaths from the disease.
Anti-malaria medicine provided by WHO was being distributed to local health centers in Congo, and WHO officials said more medical supplies were arriving in the country on Wednesday.
This is the rainy season in Congo, which often sees a surge in malaria cases, and will certainly complicate treating those most at risk.
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