Mysterious Respiratory Illness Claims Over 140 Lives in Congo

Health officials and international teams are investigating an unidentified disease in Congo's Kwango province with flu-like symptoms and a high mortality rate.

The disease has killed between 71 and 143 people and infected over 376 in Congo's remote Kwango province since late October, with discrepancies in reported death tolls.
Symptoms include fever, headache, cough, breathing difficulties, nasal congestion, and severe anemia, with children and women among the most affected groups.
Health authorities suspect the illness is respiratory in nature but await laboratory results to confirm its cause and method of transmission.
The World Health Organization and local health teams have been dispatched to collect samples and analyze the outbreak, but logistical challenges in the rural area hinder efforts.
The outbreak coincides with Congo's ongoing mpox epidemic and highlights the strain on the country's under-resourced healthcare system.