Unknown disease kills 79 in southwestern DR Congo
At least 79 people died from "a disease of still unknown origin" that is raging in southwestern Democratic Republic of the Congo's Kwango province, health authorities said in a statement early Wednesday, Xinhua reports.
The statement said a specialized response team had been sent to the field to identify the nature of the disease, urging the public to avoid mass gatherings.
The disease often causes symptoms including fever, headache, breathing difficulty, and anemia.
Remy Saki, the province's vice governor, was quoted by local media as saying that between 67 and 143 deaths had been recorded as of Tuesday.
In early October, at least 87 people were killed after a ferry sank on Lake Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The ferry, coming from the town of Minova in the South Kivu province, capsized near the port of Kituku, on the outskirts of Goma, capital of the North Kivu province.