WHO Sends Expert Team to Congo to Investigate Mysterious Disease

A team of specialists from the World Health Organization is being sent to assist local health authorities in their investigation of a mysterious, flu-like illness that has infected almost 400 people in the African Democratic Republic of the Congo.

According to a WHO statement, the team includes epidemiologists, physicians, lab technicians, experts in risk communications, and specialists in infection prevention and control.

According to Lawrence Gostin, a seasoned global health specialist and faculty director of Georgetown University’s O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, the outbreak is deeply alarming, even though there is still much to learn.
“The world needs to pay close attention to this because if it is a novel, highly transmissible influenza, it will spread around the world very quickly,” he said, adding that “we don’t want to press the panic button until we see what we’re dealing with.”

The cases are concentrated in the Panzi health zone, in the southwest province of Kwango. Local officials told Reuters that 143 people have died from the illness since late October, despite the WHO’s report that 30 people have died from it.

WHO Deploys Expert Team to Investigate Mysterious Disease in Congo

According to the WHO, the disease’s current symptoms include headaches, coughing, fever, breathing problems, and anemia. According to Reuters, women and children, especially those over 15, seem to be the groups most severely impacted.

According to Gostin, he is especially worried that the infections appear to be affecting people in their prime rather than the elderly or very young, who are the usual flu victims.

He remarked, “This is just not an event that we see, so it’s mysterious.”
Additionally, the disease seems to be spreading quickly from person to person, which worries him. Bird flu and other extremely deadly influenza viruses have not spread readily. He remarked, “It makes it very worrying,”

According to Gostin, the population of the Democratic Republic of the Congo does not trust western doctors or mainstream medicine, and the country’s health system is extremely poor and still riven by civil war.

“It will be extremely difficult to get resources there to put out the flames,” he stated. “The brew is poisonous.”
In addition to other causes like malaria and measles, the team of WHO experts is trying to rule out respiratory pathogens like influenza or COVID-19. In order to find cases, local WHO investigators have been in the region since the end of November, collaborating with the nation’s health authorities.

WHO’s Efforts to Understand and Address the Disease Outbreak in Congo

According to the agency, the WHO reinforcements will concentrate on bolstering the outbreak response, which includes gathering samples, identifying active cases, providing patient care, and raising public awareness. They will also bring diagnostic tests and necessary medications.
“Effectively supporting the impacted families and communities is our top priority,” stated Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “Every effort is being made to determine the illness’s cause, comprehend how it spreads, and guarantee a suitable response as soon as possible.”

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, is more than 400 miles away from the rural community of Panzi. According to the WHO, communication is poor and road access is challenging.
According to an email sent to USA TODAY, “The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is aware of reports of an illness in southwest DRC,” agency spokesman David Daigle stated. “The DRC’s Ministry of Health is in contact with U.S. Government personnel, including those from the U.S. CDC’s country office in Kinshasa, and they are prepared to offer further assistance if necessary.”

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