An unknown disease, whose origin is not yet known, has spread to the province of Kawangu in southwestern Congo, causing the death of more than 100 people.
According to the authorities, 143 people have died from the disease so far, and tests are now being conducted to determine what it is. The World Health Organization is also looking into what is happening there.
Patients suffer from flu-like symptoms, including: fever, severe headaches, nasal discharge, cough, difficulty breathing, and anemia.
The deputy governor of Kawangu Prefecture, Rami Saki, and the district health minister, Apollinaire Yumba, announced that a medical team had been sent to collect samples and conduct analyses in an attempt to identify the disease.
The Congolese noted that the situation is "extremely worrying" as the number of people infected with the mysterious disease continues to rise. The deputy governor and the health minister noted that there is a difficulty in supplying medicines to the rural areas where the disease is spreading, and therefore people are dying in their homes due to lack of treatment.
According to one report based on a local epidemiologist, women and children are more severely affected by the disease, but there are still no details about the cause of death, and it is not yet clear whether this is an outbreak of a new disease or an existing disease.
* Kikar Hashabbat contributed to this article.
