KINSHASA, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- The mysterious disease plaguing the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is caused by severe malaria aggravated by malnutrition, health authorities confirmed late Thursday.

"The mystery has finally been solved. It is severe malaria taking the form of a respiratory disease on a terrain weakened by malnutrition," the health ministry said in a press release, referring to the disease circulating since last October in the Panzi health zone of the southwestern Kwango province.

According to the minutes of the Council of Ministers chaired by President Felix Tshisekedi on Wednesday, up to the second epidemiological week of 2025, a cumulative 2,774 cases have been recorded, including 77 deaths, representing a lethality rate of 2.8 percent.

The DRC government said last December that it was "on maximum alert" in the face of this disease, the cause of which was previously unidentified. Enditem

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