• Microw@lemm.ee
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    5 months ago

    I’ve seen an expert say that due to the pattern of the spread it’s unlikely that it is a newly mutated illness, and more likely that it is something we already know but is untypical for this region so they havent identified it yet

  • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    Jesus. All sources state that the majority of the deaths were people 16-18 years of age. This is extremely lethal with a 21%-60% fatality rate, even if the numbers are all over the place. Covid has about a 3% fatality rate, for comparison.

    NY Post has the death toll at 179 with 300 infected.

    https://nypost.com/2024/12/04/us-news/a-mystery-disease-has-killed-179-mostly-teenagers-in-the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo/

    Reuters splits the difference with 143 dead.

    https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/unknown-disease-kills-143-southwest-congo-local-authorities-say-2024-12-03/

    • TranscendentalEmpire@lemm.ee
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      5 months ago

      I wouldn’t really take anything down as fact at the moment. The region is a healthcare desert that has a pretty bad history of malnourishment, so even if what the reports say is true, it’s not something that would be applicable to other parts of the world.

      From the couple articles that I’ve read about, there’s a lot of stuff being reported that’s probably not coming from a reliable source.

      Most are saying it’s some kind of flu-like symptoms, and the disease is unknown, but the WHO director in the area has said they won’t have any more information for the next 48 hours because they haven’t been able to test yet.

      There’s also reports of deaths from pulmonary complications, but also reports of deaths from lack of blood transfusions… Not sure why someone would require a blood transfusion for flu-like symptoms, so my guess is there’s not a lot of reliable reporting coming out ATM.

      • Peachy [they/she] @lemmy.blahaj.zoneM
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        5 months ago

        I mean the DRC has a huge population of child slaves that mine cobalt. Bad living conditions and inadequate healthcare are the perfect storm to spread disease

    • odium@programming.dev
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      5 months ago

      Your reuters link says 2024-12-03 and nyt link says, 2024-12-04 which explains why nyt has a higher number.

      edit: nypost not nyt

      • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        Yes, the infection rate is reported as climbing, but the number of fatalities varies greatly.

        300/179 in the NY Post vs 376/79 in the posted article

      • Excrubulent@slrpnk.net
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        5 months ago

        Yes, it would. Covid got around because of its long dormant period and high transmissibility. It’s only gotten less lethal over time as it’s mutated. Turns out killing your host is a poor reproductive strategy.

  • Uriel238 [all pronouns]@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    5 months ago

    As a note, everything has flu like symptoms which are all symptoms of the human body detecting an infection and the immunoresponse trying a battery of general remedies.

    The lung and nose stuff can indicate a coronavirus or other airborne infection, but also can indicate an allergy or other trigger of the anti-dust immune systems.

    Also influenza- and cold-viruses commonly have atypical symptoms (spikey fever, tinnitus, tea tastes funny, midnight insomnia, etc.) In San Francisco we’d often have multiple bugs being passed around, and signature symptoms would help indicate what you got.

    • inv3r510n@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      Yes and no? H5N1 at least in the US has been showing up as conjunctivitis in humans, which is a hell of a lot better than typical upper respiratory symptoms…

  • mindbleachBanned from community
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    5 months ago

    Alright, who fucked what?

  • Yondoza
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    5 months ago

    Does this mean go out and buy toilet paper?

    • mindbleachBanned from community
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      5 months ago

      It should be part of your emergency supplies, at this point. Just keep an extra slab somewhere and rotate stock. It doesn’t go bad.

  • Todd Bonzalez@lemm.ee
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    5 months ago

    Does anyone else see a vague resemblance to goatse in the map, or is it just my decades of being poisoned by the Internet?

  • Lovable Sidekick@lemmy.worldBanned from community
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    5 months ago

    “Here we go again” makes sense by itself, no need to add “rule” like a parrot.