ETIDIOH - NEW

Situation at a glance In many countries of the Northern Hemisphere , trends in acute respiratory infections increase at this time of year.  These increases are typically caused by seasonal epidemics of respiratory pathogens such as seasonal influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and other common respiratory viruses , including human metapneumovirus (hMPV), as well as mycoplasma pneumoniae .  Many countries conduct routine surveillance for acute respiratory infections and common respiratory pathogens.  Currently, in some countries in the temperate Northern hemisphere, influenza-like illness (ILI) and/or acute respiratory infection (ARI) rates have increased in recent weeks and are above baseline levels, following usual seasonal trends.  Seasonal influenza activity is elevated in many countries in the Northern hemisphere.  Where surveillance data is available , trends in RSV detections currently vary by region with decreases reported in most regions except ...

{Excerpts} 27 December 2024 Situation at a glance This is an update to the Disease Outbreak News on Undiagnosed disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo published on 8 December 2024 (now named acute respiratory infections complicated by malaria).  It includes updated epidemiological investigation information and preliminary laboratory results.  On 29 November, an alert was raised by local health zone authorities of Panzi health zone in Kwango province after an increase in deaths , particularly among children under five years of age , following febrile illness .  Enhanced epidemiological surveillance was rapidly implemented, which in the absence of a clear diagnosis was based on the detection of syndromic cases of febrile illnesses with cough, body weakness, with one of a number of other symptoms compatible with acute respiratory and febrile illnesses.  This resulted in a rapid increase in the number of cases meeting the definition, with a total of 891 cases re...

The flu caused by the Influenza virus, associated with malaria on a ground of malnutrition, is the unknown disease that has been decimating the population in the health zone of Panzi, in the province of Kwango, for more than a month. This is what the diagnosis made by the INRB reveals after in-depth analyses.  The governor of Kwango province , Willy Bitwisila, officially declared on Wednesday night, December 5, this epidemic which has caused around thirty deaths and more than 400 cases in this part of the Kasongolunda territory. "This is the epidemic that is causing deaths in the previously unidentified Panzi health zone.  '' After a rigorous investigation , the results from the INRB laboratory have just confirmed that it is influenza caused by the Influenza AH1N1 virus, {rhinovirus, SARS-CoV-2, edited, in the article the terms are unreadable }, associated with malaria on the ground of malnutrition .  '' An epidemic that I am now officially declaring . I would ther...

 {Excerpt} KINSHASA, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is grappling with a deadly illness of unknown origin that has claimed dozens of lives in a province, prompting investigations and heightened alertness as test results are awaited. "This is, therefore, influenza, which has been formally identified," Patrick Muyaya, spokesperson for the DRC government, announced at a national television broadcast late Friday as he read the minutes of the Council of Ministers meeting chaired by President Felix Tshisekedi in Kinshasa, the country's capital, earlier that day. During the meeting, Public Health Minister Roger Kamba said that since October, 592 cases of the illness have been recorded in the Panzi health zone of the southwestern Kwango province . Symptoms exhibited by patients are "similar to the flu," according to Kamba, who noted that the outbreak coincides with the seasonal flu period, which peaks in December. Laboratory analysis revea...