LUBUMBASHI, Democratic Republic of the Congo - Democratic Republic of Congo's health ministry said on Tuesday that a previously unidentified disease circulating in the country's Panzi health zone is a severe form of malaria.

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

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"The mystery has finally been solved. It's a case of severe malaria in the form of a respiratory illness... and weakened by malnutrition," the health ministry said in a statement.

It also said that 592 cases had been reported since October with a fatality rate of 6.2 percent.