According to health authorities, the outbreak of a mysterious illness called “Disease

Up to 143 people have died from the infectious disease, the country’s deputy provincial governor, Rémy Saki, told the Associated Press on Tuesday.

The deaths occurred between November 10 and 25 in the Panzi health zone of Kwango province, AP reported this week.

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The main symptoms include fever, headache, cough and difficulty breathing.

Most of those affected are children under 5 years of age.

“At the Emergency Operation Center for Public Health and the INSP (National Institute of Public Health) – which is in high alert mode – we have already deployed central-level teams that will leave within 24 hours to join the (local) health zone “said Dr. Dieudonné Mwamba, the director general of INSP, in French at a press conference on Thursday.

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DRC provincial health minister Apollinaire Yumba urged residents to be careful and avoid contact with corpses to prevent infections, AP reported.

The country is also asking for medical care.

“There is a lack of medication and medical supplies because the disease is not yet known.”

The first cases of Disease X were reported on October 24, but health authorities were reportedly not notified until December 1.

Jean Kaseya, director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, spoke at a news conference on Thursday.

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“We have a delay of almost five to six weeks, and so much can happen in five to six weeks,” Kaseya said.

“Ongoing testing will help us understand the problem.”

Lucien Lufutu, president of the Kwango Provincial Civil Society Advisory Board, who is in Panzi, told the AP that the local hospital was not equipped to handle the influx of sick patients.

“There is a lack of medicines and medical supplies as the disease is not yet known and most of the population is treated by traditional doctors,” he said.

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When contacted by Fox News Digital, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it was aware of reports of an illness in southwestern Democratic Republic of Congo.

“U.S. government personnel, including staff at the U.S. CDC country office in Kinshasa, are in contact with the Democratic Republic of Congo Department of Health and stand ready to provide additional support as needed,” a spokesperson said.

Congo is already battling an ongoing outbreak of Mpoxen, a viral disease caused by an orthopoxvirus. A global emergency was declared in August.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), health authorities have reported between 200 and 300 confirmed cases of MPox each week in recent weeks.

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Fox News Digital also reached out to the Africa CDC and WHO for additional comment.