LUBUMBASHI: Democratic Republic of Congo’s health ministry said today that a previously unidentified disease circulating in the country’s Panzi health zone is a severe form of malaria.
Earlier this month, local authorities said the disease had killed 143 people in the southwestern Kwango province in November.
“The mystery has finally been solved. It’s a case of severe malaria in the form of a respiratory illness … and weakened by malnutrition,” the health ministry said in a statement.
It also said that 592 cases had been reported since October 2020 with a fatality rate of 6.2%.