An undiagnosed disease outbreak in southwest Congo causing flu-like symptoms has now infected more than 400 people since October, health officials said Sunday, and reportedly killed 143 people since October, disproportionately affecting children under the age of five -- as health officials have struggled to address the disease in the remote Kwango province.
It's "really important not to panic until we have more information," University of California, Los Angeles epidemiologist Ann Rimoin told NBC News. "It could be anything . . . it could be influenza, it could be Ebola, it could be Marburg, it could be meningitis, it could be measles. At this point, we just really don't know."
64%. That's the share of cases among children under the age of 14, according to the WHO, which also reported 60% of cases are among females.
Local officials and the WHO have deployed rapid response teams to the Panzi health zone to conduct surveillance, epidemiological analysis and strengthen healthcare access. Meanwhile, food insecurity has worsened in the Kwango province, increasing from a level 1, "acceptable" integrated food security phase classification in April to a crisis level 3 in September, the WHO reported. The disease appears to be transmissible as cases have been reported among family units. The WHO assesses a "high" risk level in the affected communities, but a moderate level nationally as the outbreak is localized within the Panzi health zone. The WHO has called for strengthened coordination at the national and local levels, including enhanced communication infrastructure as there is limited network coverage in the affected areas.
Unknown disease kills 143 in southwest Congo, local authorities say (Reuters)