Congo’s health ministry identifies flu-like disease as severe malaria
Democratic Republic of Congo’s Health Ministry Identifies Severe Form of Malaria in Kwango Province
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s health ministry announced on Tuesday that a previously unidentified disease circulating in the southwestern Kwango province has been identified as a severe form of malaria.
Earlier this month, local authorities reported that the disease had claimed the lives of 143 people in the Panzi health zone in November. The symptoms of the disease include fever, headache, cough, runny nose, and body aches.
“The mystery has finally been solved. It’s a case of severe malaria presenting as a respiratory illness,” the health ministry stated. They also mentioned that malnutrition in the area had weakened the local population, making them more susceptible to disease.
Since October, a total of 592 cases have been reported, with a fatality rate of 6.2 percent.
Provincial health minister, Apollinaire Yumba, informed Reuters that anti-malaria medication provided by the World Health Organization is being distributed in the main hospital and health centers in the Panzi health zone.
A spokesperson from the WHO stated that additional health kits for moderate and critical cases are scheduled to arrive on Wednesday.
Last week, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus revealed that 10 early samples from patients in Congo with an unknown illness had tested positive for malaria. However, he did not rule out the possibility of concurrent diseases affecting the patients.
