The health ministry of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has unveiled that the previously enigmatic illness in the Panzi health zone is a severe variant of malaria worsened by malnutrition.
In a statement covered by Reuters, the ministry announced that “the enigma has finally been unraveled,” linking the illness to severe malaria manifesting as a respiratory condition. Since October, there have been 592 reported cases, with a mortality rate of 6.2 percent.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Africa Centre for Disease Control (CDC) have not yet provided any comments on the diagnosis.
On December 5, Roger Kamba, the health minister of DRC, shared additional information, confirming 71 fatalities in the southern Kwango province. Among these were 27 deaths in hospitals, 10 of which were due to inadequate blood transfusions and 17 attributed to respiratory issues. Furthermore, 44 deaths were registered in the community.
Kamba mentioned that the symptoms of the illness include fever, headache, cough, and anemia. The deaths recorded occurred between November 10 and 25 in Panzi, with approximately 380 cases leading to the deployment of epidemiological experts for sample collection and further investigation. However, the Africa CDC has reported slightly different statistics, noting 376 cases and 79 deaths.