A mystery Illness is continuing to spread in the African state of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This illness has now sickened over 400 people, most of which are adults who are malnourished, and children.

This outbreak has prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to send specialists to investigate this mysterious illness, the agency reported on Sunday.

The unidentified disease manifests as a fever, headache, cough, runny nose, and body aches. It has spread to nine of the 30 areas in the Panzi health zone, Kwango Province, in the southwest of the country.  It sounds like the symptoms are similar to those of the flu.

This story was first noticed by some media outlets about a week ago. But since then, things seem to have gotten worse quickly.

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Civil society leader Cephorien Manzanza called the situation dire, noting that the rural Panzi zone faces severe shortages of medicines as the number of infected people continues to rise.

Congo is already plagued by the mpox (monkeypox) epidemic, with more than 47,000 suspected cases and over 1,000 suspected deaths from the disease in the Central African country, according to the World Health Organization. –SHTFPlan

Data from October 24th to December 5th shows that 406 cases were recorded, including 31 fatalities. According to the WHO, while the overall risk for DRC residents is considered “moderate” to “high” in the affected area, the international risk level remains “low.”

The crisis is being exacerbated by a shortage of health workers in the region. As a result, diagnosis of the disease has been delayed. “The area is rural and remote, with access further hindered by the ongoing rainy season,” the United Nation’s health agency pointed out.

According to a report by RT, there are conflicting numbers regarding how many have died from this outbreak. Last week, the Ministry of Health of the Democratic Republic of Congo reported on X that 376 people had been infected and 79 people had died. Health experts note that malaria, common in the region, may be contributing to the situation, leaving open the possibility that more than one disease could be involved.

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This outbreak could be particularly bad, especially considering the mpox outbreak continues to rage in the region.

Nicaise Ndembi, a senior adviser to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), told Euronews that the organization was working closely with local authorities to understand the nature of the outbreak. “We are investigating this alert with the government of the DRC,” Ndembi stated.