A new mysterious illness, referred to as “Disease X” by the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has claimed the lives of at least 31 people, mostly children, in the remote Panzi region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO reported on Sunday that 406 cases of the illness have been recorded in Kwango Province, located about 435 miles southeast of Kinshasa, the capital. Over half of the fatalities were children under the age of 5, many of whom were severely malnourished. Some estimates suggest the death toll could be as high as 143, though the exact number is difficult to verify.
“The area is rural and remote, with access further hindered by the ongoing rainy season,” the WHO said. “Reaching it from Kinshasa by road takes an estimated 48 hours.”
The outbreak is believed to have begun in October. The DRC’s Ministry of Public Health raised an alert on October 29, expressing concern over the rising number of deaths in the Panzi health region.
The area has uncontrolled malaria spread, the WHO said, and extreme food insecurity in addition to limited access to vaccine and diagnostic care. During a December 5 press briefing, the ministry reported an estimated mortality rate of 8%, with many deaths occurring outside healthcare facilities—a trend that local health officials and the WHO find particularly troubling.
Symptoms of the illness resemble those of a respiratory infection, including fever, headaches, coughing, runny noses, and body aches. Rapid response teams from the WHO are on the ground working to identify the cause of the outbreak and coordinate an appropriate response.
The WHO said current health workers dispatched to the area are both treating patients and trying to find the cause of the outbreak. The most clinical presentation is general, with almost all patients reporting fever (96.5%), cough (87.9%), fatigue (60.9%), and a running nose (57.8%).
“Given the clinical presentation and symptoms reported, and a number of associated deaths, acute pneumonia, influenza, COVID-19, measles and malaria are being considered as potential causal factors with malnutrition as a contributing factor,” the WHO said.
The WHO said they were also considering acute pneumonia (respiratory tract infection) and hemolytic uremic syndrome from. Escherichia coli infection as possible causes of the outbreak.
