Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have confirmed that an unidentified illness responsible for over 50 deaths in the northwest of the country was malaria.
The outbreak in Equateur province, which began earlier this year, saw at least 943 people fall ill with symptoms including fever, fatigue, vomiting, and weight loss. Initially, officials suspected either malaria or food poisoning.
Christian Ngandu, coordinator of the National Public Health Institute (INSP), confirmed on Monday that laboratory tests had identified malaria as the cause. However, authorities are still awaiting international test results on water, food, and drink samples to rule out possible intoxication.
This follows a similar outbreak in December that was also later confirmed to be malaria.