TWO people in Europe have been hospitalised with what experts fear is 'Disease X' after flying from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DCR), local reports suggest.
The mystery pathogen has killed at least 79 and infected more than 300 since October, with this being the first potential spread beyond the African country.
The two unnamed people who visited the DCR showed up at different hospitals in Italy with signs of the little-known disease.
The first, a man, developed typical flu-like symptoms just days after returning from the country.
He was later admitted to the San Luca Hospital in Lucca, central Italy, where he spent more than a week from November 22, according to .
He was discharged on December 3 after he "recovered".
The second, a woman, visited a hospital in Cosenza, in southern Italy, on November 29, complaining of fever and "other ailments" having recently returned from the DCR, the agency said.
She was discharged the following day and is "doing well".
Both hospitals have sent samples from the patients off for further testing, in light of the ongoing outbreak of a disease with similar symptoms in the DCR.
The local health minister Roger Kamba said last week that the disease had killed 79 people in the Panzi health zone since 24 October, with 376 cases identified.
More than half cases were children under the age of five who were severely malnourished, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said in a statement on Sunday.
A team of scientists from the UN organisation is on the ground in the DCR investigating the illness.
Just yesterday, ten people suffering from the disease tested positive for malaria, the WHO said.
However, they warned many of the patients in the DCR could have more than one disease at the same time.
The main symptoms are similar to flu, with patients experiencing headaches, coughing, difficulty breathing and anaemia.
Amid speculation that the outbreak could represent 'Disease X', the term refers to a previously unknown pathogen with the potential to cause a pandemic.
The WHO clarified that it is “an undiagnosed disease rather than an unknown” one.
Specialists had already said was likely a respiratory pathogen, like the flu but had already ruled out coronavirus.
Pathogens such as malaria and measles were also being investigated.
In a bid to contain the spread, Hong Kong announced last week tighter airport screenings for passengers flying in from Johannesburg and Addis Ababa.
Over in Japan, officials are urging citizens to skip unnecessary trips to the affected region.
Malaria is a serious infection spread by mosquitoes.
If it's not diagnosed and treated quickly, you can die from it.
Malaria is caused by being bitten by an infected mosquito and it can take just one bite to get it.
It can be hard to spot, but symptoms include:
These symptoms usually appear between seven and 18 days after you've been bitten by an infected mosquito.
But sometimes you may not have symptoms for months after travel, and rarely years.
Ask for an urgent GP appointment or call NHS 111 if you have travelled to a country where malaria is found and have malaria symptoms.
The infection is very common in certain parts of the world, including:
Malaria is not found in the UK and you can't catch it from another person.
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