Specialists working in the DRC on identifying the pathogen of a previously unknown disease, which broke out in the western part of the country, have revised their earlier findings and identified a novel coronavirus infection as one of the causes, according to the Congolese news portal Actualite.
The National Institute of Biomedical Research of the DRC has concluded that this is a complex case of coinfection—where a single cell is infected by multiple types of viruses at once, the report said.
The pathogens of the disease identified last fall in the DRC are simultaneously the influenza virus AH1N1 and the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. These interact with the pathogens of malaria. The infection occurs against a backdrop of overall body weakening due to inadequate nutrition.
On December 17, an international group of scientists announced that the unknown disease is a severe form of malaria. However, further research showed that it involves a group of pathogens.