More than 50 people have died in Equateur state, north-western Congo, over the past five months due to unexplained illnesses, with nearly half of the patients dying within hours of being sick. Prominently,’ crying’ is also one of the indicators reported by patients.
Since the outbreaks started on January 21 in two remote settlements separated by more than 120 yards, health officials have reported 419 cases and 53 incidents.
Authorities are also looking into whether the illnesses are related to the circumstances in Boloko and Bomate, as well as the causes. How the conditions are spreading, including whether people transmission is at play, is still a mystery.
Outbreak facts
Three babies died within 48 hours of eating a wicket in Boloko, which is where the first outbreak was discovered. In Bomate, more than 400 people have fallen ill, with dengue identified in some people.
The World Health Organization ( WHO ) claims that no connection has been made between the outbreaks in the two villages.
There are differences between the two epidemics, according to Dr. Serge Ngalebato, the medical director of Bikoro Hospital and a member of the government answer team. We continue to look into the unexpected situation that led to the first one, which had a lot of incidents. In the next season, we see many instances of malaria”, he said.
Symptoms and research
Congo’s ministry of Health reported that about 80 % of people exhibit signs such as illness, chills, body aches, and diarrhea.
People experienced symptoms including chest and joint problems, sweating, and shortness of breath. Children exhibited consistent crying while those under 59 years old reported severe appetite.
Initial concerns were raised about the possibility of an Ebola-like bleeding disease due to the patient’s quick transition from illness to suicide. Ebola and related illnesses like Marburg have been independently tested on more than a few examples, but none have been found to be related.
The WHO is now investigating other possible causes, including malaria, popular bleeding fever, food or water poison, scarlet fever, and pneumonia.
Reply and challenges
On February 14, the Congo’s government sent health professionals to the damaged villages to help with outbreak investigation and stop spread. However, the remoteness and poor healthcare infrastructure have prevented patients and challenging case management and surveillance.
The WHO has called for immediate actions to “accelerate laboratory examinations, increase event management and loneliness capacities, and improve surveillance and risk conversation”.
climate issues and zoonoses
Boloko’s primary victims were children who had a wicket in them, raising questions about zoonotic transmission, where diseases spread from animals to people. According to the WHO, these outbreaks have increased by 60 % in Africa over the past ten years, partly as a result of human activities with wildlife in forested areas.
Congo, which hosts about 60 % of the Congo Basin’s tropical trees, is especially prone. All of these pathogens have forests ‘ reservoirs. As long as we have these trees, we may often face outbreaks with malware that may mutate”, explained Gabriel Nsakala, a common health teacher at Congo’s National Pedagogical University.
Global presence
The United States, the biggest diplomatic donor to the health sector in the Congo, has supported the training of discipline biologists to aid in the detection and control of disease occurrences. However, the Trump administration just froze foreign help during a 90-day evaluation, which may affect the continuing response efforts.
