Viet Nam keeps close eyes on mystery illness outbreak in Congo

The department will proactively conduct event-based surveillance with information about the disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo and work with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other countries to update and share information about the mystery flu-like disease.

It will work with the WHO, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the United States and other relevant units, in order to both assess the risks and propose appropriate responses, including strengthening medical quarantine work.

The mysterious disease in Congo is occurring in a rural area, about 48 hours by road from the capital Kinshasa.

The area has experienced food shortages over recent months, poor medical conditions, low vaccination rates, and limited access to diagnosis and case management.

WHO said that symptoms of the illness include fever, headache, cough, and anemia.

Earlier, on December 10, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO, said that the majority of the samples had tested positive for malaria, but noted that it is possible that more than one disease was involved. He said that further samples will subsequently be collected and tested./.