A mysterious flu-like illness, called "Disease X," has been spreading in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The World Health Organization (WHO) has sent a team to investigate the disease. Since October 24, 406 cases of this illness, which causes fever, headache, cough, runny nose, and body aches, have been registered in the Panzi area of southwest Congo.This is an increase from 376 cases last week. More than half of those affected are children under 5. One person, a 50-year-old man who travelled to Italy, is believed to have recovered from the illness.

Thirty-one people have died from the illness, down from 79 last week, according to the WHO.The outbreak is concentrated in a remote area of Kwango province, where poor road conditions and heavy rain make it difficult to reach. It takes nearly 48 hours to travel there from Kinshasa. These challenges have made it hard to confirm the exact number of deaths caused by the illness. All severe cases involve people who are also severely malnourished, which makes it even harder to identify the source of the disease.

WHO said, "These challenges, coupled with limited diagnostics in the region, have delayed the identification of the underlying cause. Teams are collecting samples for laboratory testing, providing a more detailed clinical characterization of the detected cases, investigating the transmission dynamics, and actively searching for additional cases, both within health facilities and at the community level."

The WHO has directed that diseases like acute pneumonia, influenza, COVID-19, measles, and malaria could be possible causes of the illness based on the symptoms seen in those affected. Response teams are working to treat patients and educate people in the affected communities about the outbreak.

Malaria is widespread in the area and might be a factor in the illness cases, according to the United Nations health agency. "Laboratory tests are being carried out to identify the exact cause. It's also possible that multiple diseases are contributing to the cases and deaths," the WHO stated.