WHO gives the all-clear:

Many “disease X” patients have malaria

Is malaria or another known respiratory disease behind "Disease X" after all? After the great concern in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the all-clear has now been given: the World Health Organization (WHO) has detected malaria in ten out of 12 medical samples from patients.

According to initial findings, the number of cases has not risen exponentially in a short space of time, unlike is often the case with new diseases, and is roughly in line with expectations for the time of year, said Abdi Rahman Mahamad from the WHO.

Since it is the rainy season in the remote region of Panzi in Kwango province, an increase in respiratory diseases, influenza and malaria infections is also to be expected. However, samples are still being tested for other diseases and pathogens. Pathogens include, for example, viruses and toxins that can cause illness.

Malnutrition is a risk
As reported, local authorities in Congo had recently reported an accumulation of cases of "Disease X" (see video above). Within a few weeks, more than 400 cases of illness and 31 deaths were recorded. There was great concern about the possibility of a new disease. The government was on high alert, said the health minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Children were predominantly affected, especially those under the age of five. Flu-like symptoms such as fever, headaches and coughing were reported. Fever and headaches are also common first signs of malaria. The tropical disease is transmitted by certain mosquitoes.

Here you can see a tweet about "Disease X".

According to the WHO, many people in the African country are malnourished, which could make any infection life-threatening. The organization is now trying to bring more samples to laboratories via an airlift. It takes more than two days to reach the area from the capital Kinshasa due to poor roads and the weather.