Deaths in the southwest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from an as-yet unidentified disease are continuing to rise. So far there have been 71 confirmed fatalities, with 27 recorded in hospitals and 44 in communities in the southern province of Kwango. The World Health Organization (WHO) has sent a team of experts to the field to collect samples and conduct laboratory tests to try to identify the pathogen responsible.
The results of testing should be available either later today or tomorrow, Jean Kaseya, head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a press conference earlier today. “Initial diagnoses lead us to think it is