Official statement from the World Health Organization

Congo Identifies Mystery Disease as Severe Malaria in Panzi, 592 Cases, 143 Deaths; WHO Investigates

Dec 17, 2024, 02:23 PM

The Democratic Republic of Congo's health ministry has identified a previously unknown disease causing deaths in the country as a severe form of malaria. The disease, which has been circulating in the Panzi health zone, has resulted in 143 deaths in the southwestern Kwango province in November. The ministry stated that the illness presents as a respiratory disease and is exacerbated by malnutrition in the affected population. Since October, 592 cases have been reported with a fatality rate of 6.2%. The World Health Organization (WHO) is conducting ongoing lab tests to confirm the cause, with some samples already analyzed in Kinshasa. Additionally, a 55-year-old patient in Treviso, Italy, who had recently returned from Congo, died with symptoms similar to those reported in Congo, prompting investigations into whether the case is related to the outbreak.