A mystery illness has killed dozens of people in Congo. UN experts are now investigating

The World Health Organization said Friday it deployed experts to investigate a mystery flu-like disease that in recent weeks killed dozens of people in southwest Congo

A mystery illness has killed dozens of people in Congo. UN experts are now investigatingBy JEAN-YVES KAMALE and MARK BANCHEREAUAssociated PressThe Associated PressKINSHASA, Congo

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — The World Health Organization said Friday it was deploying experts to investigate a mystery flu-like illness that has killed dozens of people in southwest Congo in recent weeks.

“All efforts are underway to identify the cause of the illness, understand its modes of transmission and ensure an appropriate response as swiftly as possible,” the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, said in a statement.

The symptoms include fever, headache, cough and anemia. Epidemiological experts from the National Rapid Response Team are in the region to take samples and investigate the disease.

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

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 5, according to the minister.

The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recorded slightly different numbers, with 376 cases and 79 deaths. The discrepancy was caused by problems with surveillance and case definition, the head of the Africa CDC, Jean Kaseya, said.

“First diagnostics are leading us to think it is a respiratory disease,” Kaseya said. “But we need to wait for the laboratory results.”

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

It took the epidemiological experts two days to get there, Congo’s health minister said. Because of the lack of testing capacity, samples had to be taken to Kikwit, more than 500 kilometers away, said Dieudonné Mwamba, the head of the National Institute for Public Health.

Mwamba said that Panzi was already a “fragile” zone, with 40% of its residents experiencing malnutrition. It was also hit by an epidemic of typhoid fever two years ago, and there is currently a resurgence of seasonal flu across the country.

Oscar Kazwa, a resident of Panzi, said his 28-year-old daughter died two weeks ago from the mystery disease.

“She had a high fever, coughing, vomiting and was very weak.” Kazwa said. “As there was no adequate care, she died.”

WHO experts are joining the National Rapid Response Team in Panzi to support the response to the outbreak. The team, which includes epidemiologists and clinicians, will deliver medicines and sample kits to help identify the cause of the disease. It will also collaborate with community leaders to enhance surveillance and promote infection prevention.

Since late November, a local WHO team has been helping Kwango’s health authorities with disease surveillance, the organization’s statement said.

While Kamba said he was not aware of any reports of the disease in health zones other than Panzi, the WHO said in its statement Friday that the disease has been reported in seven of the 30 health zones in Kwango province.