AP

Congo government says it’s ‘on alert’ over mystery flu-like disease

Dec 5, 2024, 7:42 PM

Congo's Health Minister Roger Kamba speaks, during a press conference, in Congo, Kinshasa, Thursday...

Congo's Health Minister Roger Kamba speaks, during a press conference, in Congo, Kinshasa, Thursday, Nov 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Samy Ntumba Shambuyi)

(AP Photo/Samy Ntumba Shambuyi)

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Public health officials in Africa urged caution Thursday as Congo’s health minister said the government was on alert over a mystery flu-like disease that in recent weeks killed dozens of people.

Jean Kaseya, the head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told reporters that more details about the disease should be known in the next 48 hours as experts receive results from laboratory samples of infected people.

“First diagnostics are leading us to think it is a respiratory disease,” Kaseya said. “But we need to wait for the laboratory results.” He added that many things are still unknown about the disease — including whether it is infectious and how it is transmitted.

Authorities in Congo have so far confirmed 71 deaths, including 27 people who died in hospitals and 44 in the community in the southern Kwango province, health minister Roger Kamba said.

“The Congolese government is on general alert regarding this disease,” Kamba said, without providing more details.

Of the victims at the hospitals, 10 died due to lack of blood transfusion and 17 as a result of respiratory problems, he said.

The deaths were recorded between Nov. 10 and Nov. 25 in the Panzi health zone of Kwango province. There were around 380 cases, almost half of which were children under the age of five, according to the minister.

The Africa CDC recorded slightly different numbers, with 376 cases and 79 deaths. The discrepancy was caused by problems with surveillance and case definition, Kaseya said.

Authorities have said that symptoms include fever, headache, cough, and anemia. Epidemiological experts are in the region to take samples and investigate the disease, the minister said.

The Panzi health zone, located around 435 miles (700 kilometers) from the capital Kinshasa, is a remote area of the Kwango province, making it hard to access.

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Congo government says it’s ‘on alert’ over mystery flu-like disease