Officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo have identified a previously unknown disease that killed more than 140 people as a severe form of malaria.
The country health ministry said Tuesday the strain manifested as a respiratory disease and was made worse by malnutrition in the region.
Symptoms of the disease include headache, fever, cough and anemia.
Initial diagnosis was difficult thanks to the remote nature of the region and limited local capacity for testing. The first samples had to be sent nearly 300 miles away for study.
In total, officials say, 592 cases have been tracked since October. 6.2% of cases have been fatal. More than half of those who died were children who were already affected by severe malnutrition when they were infected.
RELATED STORY | A mystery illness has killed dozens of people in Congo. UN experts are now investigating
Malaria is spread in humans through mosquito bites. It does not transmit from person to person.
The disease is widespread in tropical Africa. Within Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo accounts for more than 11% of deaths from the disease, according to the World Health Organization.
Experts from the WHO and from the Congolese government are working to trace the disease, process more samples and distribute medicines to counter the spread of malaria.
