High alert as mysterious ‘Disease X’ kills 71 and infects 394 – as bug feared airborne, causing breathing difficulties

Public health professionals are on “high alert” due to the emergence of a strange disease known as “Disease X” in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

As researchers scramble to determine its cause, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported Monday that 394 people have contracted the flu-like sickness in recent weeks.

The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that it has also claimed 71 lives.

According to AP, Africa’s CDC chief, Jean Kaseya, stated Wednesday that additional information regarding the illness should be available in the next 48 hours.

During an online press briefing on Thursday, the health watchdog seemed to refer to the virus as “Disease X,” a term the WHO uses to describe a hypothetical infection with the potential to spread like a pandemic.

According to Dieudonne Mwamba, director general of the National Public Health Institute, it is thought to be airborne and spread by tiny droplets while breathing or speech.

He continued: “We don’t know if we are dealing with a viral disease or a bacterial disease.”

Cases of the enigmatic ailment have only been reported in the Panzi region, which is 435 miles southeast of Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, since reports first surfaced in late October.

According to Mwamba, samples had to be transported over 500 kilometers to Kikwit due to a shortage of testing capability.

According to the initial tests, we believe it to be a respiratory condition, Mr. Kaseya continued.

“However, we must wait for the lab results.

He continued by saying that there are still a lot of unanswered questions regarding the illness, such as whether it is contagious and how it spreads.

Reporters in Kinshasa were told by Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba: “We are on maximum alert, we consider this to be a level of epidemic that we need to monitor.”

Residents who contracted the enigmatic disease started to experience flu-like symptoms, including fever, coughing, and headaches.

Some also experienced anemia and respiratory problems.

Kamba stated: “In the health centres, we have counted 27 dead.”

He went on to say that 44 more deaths had been reported in the area, but that “other possible causes” might have contributed to them.

‘High fever, vomiting… and then death’

According to Claude Niongo, a native of Panzi, the illness claimed the lives of his wife and daughter, who was seven years old.

Niongo told The Associated Press, “I only noticed high fevers, vomiting…and then death.” The cause is unknown.

Initial data indicates that the unexplained disease primarily affects children and younger adults, with 40% of instances occurring in children under five.

The World Health Organization announced today that it was sending specialists to assist health officials and provide medications, diagnostic equipment, and sample collection kits.

According to WHO’s announcement today, the team will collaborate with community leaders in disease surveillance and infection prevention.

Our top priority is to effectively support the impacted families and communities, stated Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa.

“All efforts are underway to identify the cause of the illness, understand its modes of transmission and ensure appropriate response as swiftly as possible.”

Road access to the area is challenging, and there is a dearth of medical facilities.

Additionally, residents lack access to medicine and potable water.

According to Mr. Kamba, the region has one of the highest rates of malnutrition in the nation, with just over 60% of the population, particularly children, suffering from it.

According to him, there was a severe typhoid fever outbreak in the area two years prior.

According to the minister, experts have determined that it is a respiratory system sickness after ruling out coronavirus.

According to WHO, measles, malaria, influenza, and other respiratory diseases are being looked into as potential causes.

According to the minister, 17 of the 27 fatalities that occurred in health centers were caused by respiratory distress.

Ten of them passed away from severe anemia brought on by a shortage of transfusions.

In recent months, the DRC has also been at the center of an mpox outbreak that has claimed over 1,000 lives.

Should we be worried?

According to Dr. Jake Dunning, a senior research fellow and infectious diseases consultant at the University of Oxford’s PandemicSciences Institute, based on the symptoms and descriptions of the individuals most affected, I would say that this unidentified illness cluster has multiple, potentially infectious causes in addition to some potential non-infectious causes.

“Speculating about causes for unidentified illness events which happen periodically, especially in African countries is not helpful and can sometimes be harmful.”

It is “always of concern and worthy of investigation” when a mysterious insect causes illness, he said.

Additionally, Dr. Dunning advised against calling the enigmatic sickness “Disease X.”

The moniker, which was coined by WHO experts, refers to a hypothetical pathogen that might one day appear and trigger a major global pandemic or epidemic.

on 2018, it was included on the WHO’s list of nine priority diseases.

“Calling this incident a Disease X outbreak; at this point is simply wrong and counterproductive,” stated Dr. Dunning.

There is a great deal of mystery around this outbreak at the time of writing, observed Dr. Michael Head, senior research fellow in global health at the University of Southampton.

This type of outbreak will occur frequently worldwide.

We may or may not ever identify the precise insect that caused the illnesses, and they are usually contained without becoming too widespread.

The DRC’s rural location also makes the public health response more challenging.

However, they have expertise dealing with infectious illness epidemics because the nation has recently suffered mpox and Ebola outbreaks.