A mystery illness in Africa’s Uganda has left hundreds shaking uncontrollably, according to local media reports. The disease, referred to as Dinga Dinga by the locals – which means "shaking like dancing", has already affected around 300 people, mostly women and girls, health officials said.

This bizarre condition, reported in the country’s Bundibugyo district causes high fever, intense chills, and body shaking - making it difficult for anyone affected to walk or even sit properly.

Dr. Kiyita Christopher, the district health officer, told the media that no cases have been reported outside Bundibugyo, and samples have been sent to the health ministry for analysis. He also reassured the public that there have been no fatalities linked to the disease and that it is typically treatable with antibiotics.

"Patients usually recover within a week," he said.

Many local people have now turned to taking herbal remedies to treat, prevent, and ease the symptoms, even though doctors have strongly warned against it. "There is no scientific evidence that herbal medicine can treat this disease," Dr. Christopher said. "I urge locals to seek treatment from health facilities within the district," he added.

According to Dr. Christopher, the illness was first reported in early 2023 and remains under investigation by health laboratories.

Patients say they had harrowing experiences with the illness – saying that shaking was so uncontrollable that it led to their bodies being paralyzed. "I felt weak and got paralyzed, with my body shaking uncontrollably whenever I tried to walk," a patient told the Ugandan magazine, Monitor.

The mystery illness comes close after an outbreak of a new mpox strain in the region – which killed many people earlier this year. In August, the World Health Organization declared the deadly clade 1b variants as a global health emergency.

According to officials, the outbreak of the virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DCR) and neighbouring countries like Uganda posed a situation of "international concern," marking the WHO's highest level of alert.

There was another health threat that emerged in DRC last month known as Disease X, which killed more than 400 people. Experts use the term Disease X for any unknown pathogen with the potential to spark a global epidemic. While scientists are still trying to find what it is, many epidemiologists are saying it can be malaria, as more than 40 people have tested positive for the mosquito-borne illness.

The entire area around DRC and Uganda, where contagious diseases are rampant, suffers from high levels of malnutrition and low vaccination coverage, leaving children vulnerable to many diseases including pneumonia, measles, influenza, and others.

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