Post Reply - New flu kills 143 in the Congo

Treyfish replied

 more on severe malaria, seems plausible but the respiratory stuff is missing and WHO said no definitive results yet so there ya go

In 2022, some 249 million cases of malaria worldwide resulted in an estimated 608,000 deaths, with 80 percent being 5 years old or less.^[5] Nearly all malarial deaths are caused by P. falciparum, and 95% of such cases occur in Africa. In Sub-Saharan Africa, almost 100% of cases were due to P. falciparum, whereas in most other regions where malaria is endemic, other, less virulent plasmodial species predominate.<sup>[6]

......</sup>Unlike other malarias, which show regular periodicity of fever, falciparum, though exhibiting a 48-hour cycle, usually presents as irregular bouts of fever. This difference is due the ability of P. falciparum merozoites to invade a large number of RBCs sequentially without coordinated intervals, which is not seen in other malarial parasites.^[68] P. falciparum is therefore responsible for almost all severe human illnesses and deaths due to malaria, in a condition called pernicious or complicated or severe malaria. Complicated malaria occurs more commonly in children under age 5,^[46] and sometimes in pregnant women (a condition specifically called pregnancy-associated malaria).^[78] Women become susceptible to severe malaria during their first pregnancy. Susceptibility to severe malaria is reduced in subsequent pregnancies due to increased antibody levels against variant surface antigens that appear on infected erythrocytes.^[79] But increased immunity in the mother increases susceptibility to malaria in newborn babies.^[78]

Treyfish replied

 So now they admit an influenza virus is involved but still no clarification of the type, where it came from or animal. Mixed with Covid-19, sars thing. No new report of spreading yet?

alert commented on Treyfish's reply

Some of the cases appear to have tested positive for COVID as well, despite earlier denials. Looks like an "all of the above" situation to me.

somebodyoutthere replied

Yes, perhaps like everywhere else people are getting sick over and over again & some w coinfections, but in this region of the Congo they are an especially vulnerable population with endemic malaria & malnutrition added into the mix. All of those factors together could increase the fatality rate. Osterholm pointed out that it’s probably not a new “disease x” because he would’ve expected to see more exponential increase if that was the case