December 6, 2024

expert reaction to unknown illness in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Scientists comment on an unknown illness in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). 

Prof Paul Hunter, Professor in Medicine, UEA, said:

“We still know very little about this other than so far there have been 376 people reported as affected and 79 dead, however given the difficulties in identifying mild infections in Central Africa, the infection likely has a much lower mortality rate than these figures would suggest.  The illness appears to be predominantly a respiratory infection with symptoms including fever, headache, nasal congestion, cough, difficulty breathing, and anaemia.

“The big question is what is likely to be causing this and that I don’t know for certain.  The mention of anaemia makes me think of Mycoplasma pneumonia but it is too early to make a definite diagnosis until further analyses are reported.

“Reports of outbreaks with fatalities crop up somewhere in the world several times a year.  Almost all turn out to be an already well-known infection with limited global consequences.  But of course, we need to have more information before being able to judge the wider consequences if any of this outbreak.  It is vital that these cases are investigated promptly so that appropriate treatment and control measures can be implemented.”

Dr Jake Dunning, Senior Research Fellow and Consultant in Infectious Diseases, Pandemic Sciences Institute, University of Oxford, said:

“I’d say there are multiple, potential infectious causes for this unidentified illness cluster, based on the symptoms described and descriptions of who is being affected the most, and there are some possible non-infectious causes too.  Speculating about causes for unidentified illness events – which happen periodically, especially in African countries – is not helpful and can sometimes be harmful.  I think we must have faith in officials from the DRC and from supporting agencies, such as the WHO, who are investigating what is a concerning illness cluster (not knowing why people are getting sick or dying is always of concern and worthy of investigation).  We should allow them to do what they say they are doing – case investigations, field epidemiology and laboratory testing to look for potential causes (and if they request assistance, provide it).  Calling this incident a ‘disease X’ outbreak at this point is simply wrong and counterproductive.”

Dr Michael Head, Senior Research Fellow in Global Health, University of Southampton, said:

“At time of writing, there is a huge amount of uncertainty about this outbreak.

“Outbreaks like this will happen many times around the world.  Typically, they are brought under control without spreading too widely, and we may or may not ever find out the exact bug that caused the infections.

“This rural area in the DRC also means the public health response is more complicated.  However, the country has had mpox and Ebola outbreaks in recent, so they are experienced at addressing infectious disease epidemics.”

Declared interests

Prof Paul Hunter: “No conflicts.”

Dr Jake Dunning: “Nil to declare.”

Dr Michael Head: “No COIs.”