"The mystery has finally been solved," Congo's health ministry says, after an unidentified disease outbreak started killing mainly women and children in a remote region.

Congo's health minister Roger Kamba attends a press conference in Kinshasa, Congo, in a Dec. 5, 2024 file photo. / Credit: Samy Ntumba Shambuyi/AP At least 592 cases were reported after the alert was first raised by Congo's health ministry on Oct. 29.

A previously unknown disease, dubbed Disease X in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), is a severe form of malaria, the country’s health ministry has announced. Health authorities said the disease,

Earlier this month, local authorities said the disease had killed 143 people in the southwestern Kwango province in November.

The disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which was previously unknown, was officially identified as malaria, according to a Telegraph report citing the country's health ministry statement on Tuesday.

A mystery illness found in a remote part of Congo has been officially identified as a severe form of malaria, which has sickened nearly 600 people and killed 143.

The source of a mystery disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has officially been identified as malaria, the country’s health ministry said on Tuesday.

A mysterious disease that infected at least 592 people and killed over 140 has apparently been identified as an aggressive strain of malaria. The disease, emerged in Panzi, Democratic Republic of Congo,