KINSHASA – Health officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo have reported that an illness responsible for at least 50 deaths in the northwest region of the country may be malaria or food poisoning.
According to Dieudonne Mwamba, the director general of the National Institute of Public Health, the outbreak in Equateur province has also affected at least 943 people, with 52 confirmed fatalities. The symptoms observed among those infected include fever, fatigue, vomiting, and weight loss.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed 1,096 cases and 60 deaths matching the illness’s criteria, indicating a significant public health concern.
“For now, we are diagnosing it as malaria, though food poisoning is also a possible cause,” Mwamba told Reuters. “This is not a new or mysterious disease; it appears to be linked to children consuming bushmeat.”
The WHO noted that reports have surfaced about children eating bat carcasses before displaying symptoms. A recent bulletin issued by the WHO on February 16 confirmed these reports.
Mwamba further stated that tests on a dozen samples came back negative for viral hemorrhagic fever, but 78% tested positive for malaria.
“The diagnostic trend is pointing more toward malaria,” said Ngashi Ngongo from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) during a press briefing. “Five villages are affected by this outbreak.”
In response to the growing crisis, the WHO has intensified surveillance efforts and is collaborating with local health authorities to conduct further investigations.
This outbreak follows a similar incident in December, when an initially unidentified illness was later confirmed to be malaria.
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