"The mystery has finally been solved," Congo's health ministry says, after an unidentified disease outbreak started killing mainly women and children in a remote region.

The disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which was previously unknown, was officially identified as malaria, according to a Telegraph report citing the country's health ministry statement on Tuesday.

Earlier this month, local authorities said the disease had killed 143 people in the southwestern Kwango province in November.

A mystery illness found in a remote part of Congo has been officially identified as a severe form of malaria, which has sickened nearly 600 people and killed 143.

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s Health Ministry has identified a mystery illness in Kwango province as a severe form of malaria presenting as a respiratory illness. This announcement confirms the suspicions of WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus who recently revealed that early samples from people infected with the illness tested positive for malaria.

The disease had killed 143 people in the country’s Panzi health zone in November 2024. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Authorities say the mystery flu-like illness that has killed dozens of people in southwest Congo in recent weeks might be malaria.

The source of a mystery disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has officially been identified as malaria, the country’s health ministry said on Tuesday.