Mystery Illness

A mystery flus like illness that has been effecting people, predominantly children, and has killed dozens of people in southwest Congo in recent weeks might be malaria, according to results from laboratory samples of infected people, authorities said Wednesday. It is believed that people who are co-infected with a respiratory illness as well as malaria are suffering much more severe symptoms. 

"Of the 12 samples taken, nine were positive for malaria but these samples were not of very good quality, so we are continuing to research to find out if this is an epidemic," Jean-Jacques Muyembe, PhD, director-general of the National Institute for Biomedical Research in Kinshasa, told the Associated Press. The symptoms include fever, headache, cough, and anemia. Experts from the National Rapid Response Team and WHO were in Panzi last week to take samples and investigate.

The Panzi health zone, around 435 miles (700 kilometers) from the capital, Kinshasa, is hard to access. The experts took 2 days to arrive, according to Congo's health minister. Because of the lack of local testing capacity, samples had to be taken to Kikwit, more than 500 kilometers away, Dieudonne Mwamba, PhDc, the head of the National Institute for Public Health, said last week. Panzi was hit by an epidemic of typhoid fever 2 years ago, and there is currently a resurgence of seasonal flu across the country, Mwamba added.