Mystery deadly ‘Disease X’ spreads in Congo as WHO struggles to trace origin

The World Health Organization has recorded more than 400 cases of a mysterious, deadly, flu-like illness dubbed “Disease X” in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and is struggling to uncover its origins.

The unidentified disease has infected an estimated 406 people in the DRC since October and killed 143 of them — mostly children, according to local authorities.

The WHO has dispatched a rapid response team to unravel the mystery of “Disease X,” but officials said Sunday that the center of the outbreak is in a remote area of the Kwango province, where poor road conditions and heavy rain mean it will take at least two days to get there.

The investigation is also being hampered by the fact that all of the most serious cases of “Disease X” involve the patient suffering from severe malnutrition, too, making it harder to trace the illness’s exact source.

“These challenges, coupled with limited diagnostics in the region, have delayed the identification of the underlying cause,” the WHO said.

“Teams are collecting samples for laboratory testing, providing a more detailed clinical characterization of the detected cases, investigating the transmission dynamics, and actively searching for additional cases, both within health facilities and at the community level,” the organization said.

Initial findings suggest the deaths might be related to a plethora of other diseases spreading in the southwest DRC, including acute pneumonia, influenza, COVID-19, measles and malaria, the latter of which is common in the region.

It’s also possible that more than one disease is causing the deaths, the WHO said.

All recorded cases of the illness involve patients suffering fever, headache, cough, runny nose, body aches, breathing difficulties and anemia, according to the nation’s Ministry of Health.

While the WHO said it has only found evidence of 31 deaths caused by “Disease X,” most of which involve children under 5 years old, it acknowledged that the death toll may be higher, as local officials estimate it at 143 deaths.

The DRC’s Ministry of Health reported the outbreak to the WHO on Nov. 29, with more than 100 new cases uncovered since then.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has warned that Disease X may be airborne, but questions remain on the exact nature of the disease and how it is transmitted.