DRC investigates mystery flu-like disease after dozens die in Kwango

# DRC investigates mystery flu-like disease after dozens die in Kwango

Event date: December 3, 2024 - Officials sent epidemiological experts to Panzi health zone after a flu-like disease killed between 67 and 143 people over two weeks.

Kwango deaths prompt urgent investigation

Health officials in southwestern Congo have sent medical experts to investigate a mystery flu-like disease that killed dozens of people over a two-week period in Kwango province. The AP report says the deaths were recorded between Nov. 10 and Nov. 25 in the Panzi health zone.

Authorities still do not know exactly what is causing the outbreak, but they have already identified a troubling pattern. Provincial health minister Apollinaire Yumba said the symptoms include fever, headache, cough and anaemia. Deputy provincial governor Rémy Saki told AP that between 67 and 143 people had died, a range that shows how much uncertainty still surrounds the scale of the crisis.

The province is now waiting for test samples to explain what is happening. Yumba said an epidemiological team was expected in the region to take samples and identify the problem, and he urged residents to avoid contact with dead bodies. That advice reflects how quickly a suspected outbreak can become a public-health emergency before the cause is known.

The report also points to a wider pressure on Congo's health system. AP said the World Health Organization was aware of the unidentified disease and had a team on the ground working with local health services to collect samples. At the same time, Congo is dealing with an mpox epidemic that the report says has produced more than 47,000 suspected cases and over 1,000 suspected deaths.

That wider context matters because the Kwango outbreak is unfolding in a country already under strain. Even before the diagnosis is confirmed, officials are asking for medical supplies and outside support. The practical challenge is not just finding the cause of the illness but also reaching a remote area quickly enough to limit further deaths.

The symptoms listed in the report are broad enough to overlap with other diseases, which helps explain why the illness first appeared mysterious. Fever and cough point in one direction, while anaemia suggests severe illness. Until the sample results come back, the exact cause remains unknown.

For now, the central facts are limited but serious: a flu-like disease has killed dozens in southwestern Congo, the death toll may be far higher than first reported, and investigators are racing to identify what is killing people before the outbreak widens further.