The mysterious disease kills more than 50 in the DRC: what we know so far | Health news

A mysterious viral disease has emerged in recent weeks in parts of the Western Democratic Republic (DRC), which has led to at least 53 deaths, employees say.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), clinicians are particularly concerned about the short period between the onset of what seems to be symptoms of “hemorrhagic fever” and death – about only 48 hours – encouraging fears that there may be a large number of deaths if the hearth continues.

This is the most recent viral epidemic that has hit the region of the East African region in the last year, after outbreaks of diseases of Marburg and MPOX.

In particular, the DRC is susceptible to epidemics due to its tropical climate, in which pathogens flourish, as well as their dense forests that expose the people of the wild, who probably carry diseases. Many viral diseases in the country and elsewhere are also related to the consumption of wildlife meat.

Here's what we know about the most recent viral threat:

Where is the new virus discovered?

The new virus was first discovered in January, in a remote village called Boloko, in the province of DRC Equateer. This happened in three children who ate a dead bat, according to the WHO. All three children under the age of five died within 48 hours after the presentation of symptoms, including fever, chills and headache, between January 10 and 13.

Four more deaths were registered in the same village among children between the ages of five and 18, all with similar symptoms, at the end of January. One death, on January 22, was recorded in the nearby village of Danda.

On February 9, a second outbreak of the disease was registered in the disease, a separate town at a distance.

By February 15, 431 cases were reported with a total of 53 deaths according to the WHO.PDF), which said the death rate is 10.7 percent. About half of the deaths are recorded within 48 hours after the onset of symptoms.

What are the symptoms of the new virus?

According to the WHO, the symptoms of the disease suggest that it belongs to a group of diseases called viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF), which means that they cause excessive disease and blood loss. Recognized examples of such diseases include Ebola, Lasa fever and Marburg virus.

Symptoms reported so far by the unknown disease in the DRC include fever, chills, headache, body pain, sweating, running nose, neck stiffness, cough, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal cramps.

What do we know about the causes and nature of the new disease?

According to who is not clear what the cause of the disease is or how the virus is transmitted. A clear link has not yet been established between the two points of the burst. In a report stating that the lack of an obvious connection between the two hot spots could “offer two separate health events.”

According to the WHO, the main concerns are that a “severe infectious or toxic agent” can be involved – that is, a naturally occurring virus and that the disease so far presents with a “extremely high” mortality rate.

“The main challenges (also) include the rapid progression of the disease, with almost half of the deaths occurring within 48 hours after the onset of symptoms in one of the affected health areas and an extremely high death rate from cases to another,” said.

How did the authorities react?

Earlier in February, the National Institute for Biomedical Research in the country in Kinshasa tests samples of 12 active cases and a deceased person. The test results have excluded similar hemorrhagic diseases such as Ebola and Marburg virus.

Testing and tracking contacts continue in affected areas by teams of local officials and officers of the WHO. However, the remoteness of the two hot spots, as well as the limited laboratory capacity and generally weak health infrastructure in the DRC, can see that the disease is further spread, warns the WHO.

Meanwhile, some villages in the region have established insulation premises and healthcare workers go to communities to inform people about the new disease.

What do experts say about the new disease?

Some health experts have said they suspect that viral disease can be zoonotic – a disease that is spread by animals to humans – due to reports of children who eat a bat, which are known to carry viruses that can be deadly to humans. In the past, viruses such as Ebola and Marburg have hit human beings who ate infected bats.

As long as the new disease cannot be identified, it is difficult to understand how easily people will be able to deal with it, said Dr. Run Stamamaki, Assistant Professor of Viral Immunology at the University of Birmingham, the United Kingdom told the Science Center.

“If the infection comes from a virus that came from a bat, it tells us that it is unlikely to have an existing immunity to this new infection for humans, so we are unprotected (and) we suffer a serious illness and even death,” Stamamaki said.

“(But) if the virus is similar to other viruses that infect people-as a virus-causing virus has been similar to some ordinary cold coronaviruses-some people may have a chance to show less severe symptoms and recover,” she added.

Why is the DRC particularly vulnerable to the spread of the disease?

The country is currently in armed conflict grips in the eastern province of Kiu, led by Rebel M23 groupwhich recently captured the key cities of Goma (January 27) and Bukav (February 14).

Violence there has already devastated health infrastructure in the region and has caused a huge displacement in recent months. Hospitals have been buried and help workers have also been attacked.

What other diseases have hit the region recently?

Mpox

At the moment, Burst of mpox It also continues in the region. The Health Employees of the DRC and the WHO expressed concern about the high rate of deaths – 4.9 percent – Last June, as well as a new, more infectious version found in Camituga, South Kivu province in August.

Between November 25 and January 5, more than 2,400 cases of the disease and five deaths were reported. From the beginning of the outbreak, the DRC reported a total of 11 834 cases and 1,304 deaths until February 23, according to Africa Center for Disease Control.

Soon shipments MPOX vaccines from Western donors such as the United States, Japan and the European Union enabled employees to provide vaccines to at least 50,000 people by December. It is not clear how many vaccines are needed to cover 105 million population in the country.

The virus has also spread to neighboring Burundi, Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya, albeit in a smaller issue.

Malaria

In December, the WHO reported that a recently identified malaria had a severe case Causes 48 deaths Within three months in Panzi, southern province of Quango. This outbreak continues.

Sudanese virus

Meanwhile, Uganda There have been recently recorded cases of Sudan's virus (in the same family as the Ebola virus). Nine cases and one death have been confirmed since January 30.

Marburg virus

Tanzania faces a hearth of the Marburg virus, in the northwestern Kagera neighborhood. Since January, 10 cases have been reported, including two confirmed and eight likely cases. They all led to death.