Health authorities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, along with experts from the World Health Organization (WHO), are conducting a detailed investigation to determine the cause of a cluster of illnesses and deaths in the northwestern Equateur province, where at least 60 people have died since January, the WHO said in a statement.
"Increased disease surveillance has identified a total of 1096 sick people and 60 deaths in Basankusu and Bolomba [districts]. The experts are stepping up disease surveillance, conducting interviews with community members to understand the background, and providing treatment for diseases such as malaria, typhoid fever and meningitis," it read.
Initial lab tests ruled out Ebola and Marburg viruses, but about half of the samples tested positive for malaria. Further testing for meningitis and environmental contamination is ongoing, with samples sent to Kinshasa's national reference laboratory, the WHO noted.
The deceased and sick people exhibited various symptoms, including fever, headache, chills, sweating, stiff neck, muscle aches, body aches, runny or bleeding nose, cough, vomiting, and diarrhea, according to the statement.
"WHO is supporting the local health authorities to reinforce investigation and response measures, with more than 80 community health workers trained to detect and report cases and deaths. Further efforts are needed to reinforce testing, early case detection, and reporting for the current event but also for future incidents," the organization emphasized.