What we know about the disease that killed more than 50 people in Congo

Kinshasa, Congo – Kinshasa, Congo (AP) – Unclear illness In the northwest Congo Over 50 people have been killed in the last five weeks.

The outbreaks in two far-flung villages in Congo's Ecourt province, beginning on January 21, include 419 cases and 53 deaths. Health officials do not know whether or not cases in two villages, more than 120 miles (190 kilometers) apart, are related or cause. It is also unknown how the disease is spreading.

The village's first victims were children who died within 48 hours of eating bats, the World Health Organization's Africa office said this week. More infections have been discovered in other villages where at least some patients suffer from malaria.

Illness is gathered in two remote villages in different health zones in Equateur, 400 miles (640 km) from Kinshasa.

The first outbreak began in the village of Boroko after three children died within 48 hours of eating bats. More than two weeks later, an outbreak of more than two seconds was recorded in the village of Bomate, where over 400 people were ill. According to Who's Africa Office, no link has been established between the two village cases.

Dr Serge Nagarebato, medical director of Bikoro Hospital, a regional monitoring centre, and one of the government experts deployed to respond to the outbreak, says the situation in the two villages is somewhat different.

“The first one with many deaths is continuing to investigate because it's a rare situation. (And) the second episode we're dealing with, we see a lot of cases of malaria,” Dr. Ngalebato said.

The WHO Africa Office said the rapid progression from illness to death in Boroco is of important concern, with Bomart's deaths high.

The Congo's Ministry of Health said about 80% of patients share similar symptoms, including fever, chills, body pain and diarrhea.

These symptoms can be caused by many common infections, but health officials initially feared that some of the victims' symptoms and rapid deaths could be signs of hemorrhagic fever such as Ebola.

However, similar diseases, including Ebola and Marburg, were ruled out after more than 12 samples were collected and tested in the Kinshasa capital.

The WHO said it is investigating many possible causes, including malaria, viral hemorrhagic fever, food or water poisoning, typhoid fever and meningitis.

The Congolese government says experts have been sent to the village since February 14th. It mainly supports case investigations and delays in spreads.

Ngalebato said the patients are responding to treatments targeting different symptoms.

Remote villages are blocking access to patients, but weak healthcare infrastructure has made it difficult to carry out monitoring and manage patients. These challenges are common in the outbreak of disease in the Congo. In Decemberunknown illnesses have killed dozens of people.

In the latest outbreak, several casualties were killed even before experts reached them, Ngalebato said.

“There is a need for urgent action to accelerate laboratory investigations, improve case management and isolation capabilities, and enhance surveillance and risk communication.

The US is the largest bilateral donor in the Congolese health sector and supports training hundreds of field epidemiologists to help detect and control diseases in a vast country. The outbreak was detected when the Trump administration froze foreign aid during a 90-day review.

There have been concerns for a long time Diseases that jump from animals to humans Where people eat wildlife regularly. The number of such outbreaks in Africa has skyrocketed by more than 60% over the past decade, WHO said in 2022.

Experts say this is what's happening in Congo. The Congo is home to approximately 60% of the forests of the Congo Basin, which is home to the vast area of ​​the largest tropical forest on the planet.

“All of these viruses are viruses with reservoirs in the forest, and as long as we have these forests, we have some epidemics that always include mutant viruses,” said Gabriel Nusacarra, a professor of public health at the National University of Education, Congo, who previously worked for the Congo's Ministry of Health on Ebola and Coronavirus Response Programs.

___

For more information about Africa and development, see https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse

___

The Associated Press receives financial support from the Gates Foundation for coverage of Africa's global health and development. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find the AP standard A list of supporters and funded coverage areas to work with charities ap.org.