Unknown disease in Congo left dozens dead, officials say
Kinshasa, Dec 3: An unknown disease has killed at least 67 people over a two-week span in southwestern Congo, local authorities said.
The deaths were recorded between Nov 10 and Nov 25 in the Panzi health zone of Kwango province. The symptoms included fever, headache, cough and anaemia, the provincial health minister, Apollinaire Yumba, told reporters over the weekend.
The deputy provincial governor, Rémy Saki, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that between 67 and 143 people died.
"A team of epidemiological experts is expected in the region to take samples and identify the problem," he added.
Yumba advised the population to exercise caution and refrain from touching the dead to avoid contamination. He called on national and international partners to send medical supplies to deal with the health crisis.
Congo is already plagued by the mpox epidemic, with more than 47,000 suspected cases and over 1,000 suspected deaths from the disease in the Central African country, according to the World Health Organisation.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Challenge ahead is to meet people's expectations: Devendra Fadnavis
Mumbai (PTI): BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, all set to become Maharashtra Chief Minister for the third time, on Wednesday underlined the challenges before the new government and said the real struggle lies in fulfilling the people's expectations.
Speaking after being elected as leader of the state BJP legislature party ahead of Thursday's swearing-in ceremony, he also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for placing faith in him.
"Our responsibility has increased. We need to work harder. The struggle ahead is about meeting the expectations people have from us. We must work in tandem with our allies to achieve this," he said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party had the people's mandate in 2019 but "it was taken away", he said, apparently referring to the Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray severing its ties with the BJP over the chief minister's post and forming government in alliance with the Congress and undivided NCP.
"For the first two and a half years, we faced targeted opposition, but not a single MLA left us. We came to power in 2022, and now, we have achieved a thumping majority in this election," said the 54-year-old politician from Nagpur.
Expressing gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Fadnavis said, "I thank the prime minister for selecting someone like me, who has worked as a party worker, to serve in this role three times. Ek hain to safe hai, aur Modi hain to Mumkin hai (United we are safe, and with Modi, everything is possible)."
The new Mahayuti government of the BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party would be sworn in at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai on Thursday following the coalition's landslide victory in the November 20 Maharashtra assembly elections.
