KINSHASA, Congo—The government of Congo is intensifying its response as a mysterious flu-like disease continues to claim lives across the southern Kwango province. At least 71 deaths have been confirmed in recent weeks, and health officials warn that more cases could emerge. As public health experts race to identify the disease, the government remains on high alert, and investigations are underway to determine whether it is contagious and how it is transmitted.
Jean Kaseya, the head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), addressed the media on Thursday, stating that early diagnostics suggest the disease is primarily respiratory in nature. However, experts are still awaiting laboratory results to confirm the precise cause. The disease’s characteristics remain largely unknown, leaving authorities with numerous unanswered questions, including whether it spreads between individuals.
Health Minister Roger Kamba confirmed that the deaths occurred between November 10 and November 25 in the Panzi health zone, which lies in the remote southern region of Kwango province, approximately 700 kilometers from the capital, Kinshasa. The government has recorded 71 deaths so far, 27 in hospital settings and 44 in communities, although the Africa CDC reported slightly higher numbers, with 79 deaths and 376 cases. Kaseya explained that the discrepancy was due to difficulties in surveillance and inconsistent case definitions.
The victims displayed symptoms including fever, headaches, coughing, and a troubling rise in anemia. Of the cases reported, nearly half were children under the age of five, which has raised further concern. Many deaths occurred due to complications, including severe respiratory issues and a lack of access to blood transfusions, with 10 fatalities attributed to this shortage.
The health system in Kwango province has been described as fragile. Many local hospitals struggle to provide adequate care due to insufficient resources. The Panzi health zone, already weakened by high levels of malnutrition and a prior outbreak of typhoid fever, is facing additional challenges. The area is also contending with a resurgence of seasonal flu, complicating the situation further.
“Many things are still unknown, but we are taking every measure possible to investigate and respond,” said Kaseya. The first batch of samples from affected individuals was sent to Kikwit, a regional medical center more than 500 kilometers away, for analysis. This delay in testing has hampered the speed of the investigation, according to Dieudonne Mwamba, head of the National Institute for Public Health.
Residents have shared harrowing accounts of the illness’s rapid spread. One resident, Claude Niongo, tragically lost his wife and young daughter to the disease. “We don’t know what it is, but I saw them suffer from high fevers, vomiting… and then they were gone,” Niongo said. “Now, they tell us it’s an epidemic, but the hospitals are unprepared.”
Civil society leaders in Kwango have expressed concerns about local hospitals’ lack of medical supplies. Lucien Lufutu, president of the civil society consultation framework in the province, stated that the local hospital is poorly equipped and that many affected individuals are seeking treatment from traditional healers. “We have no access to proper medicines, and people are dying because of it,” Lufutu said.
In addition to the mystery illness, Congo is currently grappling with an ongoing mpox epidemic that has claimed over 1,000 lives across the country, with more than 47,000 suspected cases. The situation has placed additional strain on an already overstretched healthcare system.
As health officials await further lab results, the government calls on local and international experts to assist in containing the outbreak. The urgency of the response is heightened by the fragile healthcare infrastructure in the affected region, which makes effective disease containment and treatment efforts more challenging.
Authorities have not confirmed whether the illness has spread to other areas beyond Kwango province, but they closely monitor neighboring health zones. Given the lack of resources and the spread of other diseases, the situation in Congo remains highly volatile, and more deaths could follow if the disease is not
