Photo: Roger Samuel Kamba, Minister of Public Health, Hygiene and Prevention.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is confronting a health crisis in the remote Panzi health zone of Kwango Province, where an undiagnosed illness has infected more than 400 people and killed at least 31, predominantly malnourished children under the age of five. The mystery “Disease X”—which may or may not be a new disease—causes symptoms such as fever, headache, cough, runny nose and body aches. The World Health Organization said in a press briefing on Tuesday that 10 out of 12 samples have tested positive for malaria, but it’s possible more than one disease is involved. The outbreak has raised pressing questions about the DRC’s ability to respond effectively to health emergencies in isolated areas.
Accessing Panzi is a formidable challenge, with poor road infrastructure requiring a multi-day journey from Kinshasa, the nation’s capital. “This is really the definition of remote,” says Placide Mbala, a virologist and head of epidemiology at the DRC’s National Institute of Biomedical Research. He explains that limited connectivity and delayed sample collection have hampered diagnosis efforts. Specimens collected initially were unsuitable for analysis, but a team from the DRC’s Ministry of Public Health has now gathered higher-quality samples, says Mbala, who is part of the team. Read more from the Publication, Scientific American, here .