A mysterious disease outbreak in a remote region of the Democratic Republic of Congo has been identified as an acute respiratory infection complicated by malaria, health authorities said Friday.
Since the end of October, 891 cases and 48 deaths have been recorded, according to an update from the World Health Organization (WHO) this Friday.
Hundreds of samples were tested to understand more about the disease. More than 60% of rapid tests were positive for malaria, and about two-thirds of those tested with a more precise laboratory test of PCR were also positive for Plasmodium falciparum, the . Other tests have also detected common respiratory viruses, including the flu.
Additional epidemiological surveillance and laboratory testing continues as . The number of weekly cases has remained relatively stable since the beginning of November, according to WHO data. There was an increase in the number of cases during the week ending December 15, likely driven by improved case detection following the deployment of rapid response teams; deaths did not increase as much this week.
“Ongoing investigations and preliminary laboratory findings suggest that a combination of common respiratory viral infections and falciparum malaria, worsened by acute malnutrition, has led to an increase in serious infections and deaths,” according to Friday’s WHO update. .
Symptoms that have led to the fatal cases include difficulty breathing, anemia and signs of acute malnutrition, which make young children particularly vulnerable.
Children under the age of 5 were most affected, accounting for almost half of all cases and 54% of all deaths. This age group accounts for just 18% of the region’s population.
