An undiagnosed disease outbreak in southwest Congo causing flu-like symptoms has now infected more than 400 people since October.
Health officials said the disease has reportedly killed 143 people since October, affecting children under the age of five.
Between Oct. 24 and Dec. 5, the World Health Organization recorded 406 cases of the disease, which causes fever, headache, cough, running nose and body aches.
The most severe cases are among people who are severely malnourished which reports acute pneumonia, influenza, COVID-19, measles and malaria are considered potential causal factors.
The remote Panzi health zone, where the outbreak is located, takes 48 hours to reach by car from the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital city of Kinshasa, hindering access to treatment and supplies, as well as diagnosis and response efforts.
