DRC - Kwango: At least 37 confirmed deaths due to epidemics of undiagnosed origin reported in Panzi - November 30, 2024+ - malaria, H1N1pdm09 influenza confirmed

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Kwango
/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwango
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Translation Google

Kwango: 67 deaths due to an epidemic of unknown origin recorded in Panzi

November 30, 2024

Kenge, November 30, 2024 (ACP).- Sixty-seven (67) deaths due to an epidemic of unknown origin were recorded in the health zone of Panzi, in the province of Kwango, southwest of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the ACP learned Friday in Kenge, from an official source.

< Indeed in Kwango, more precisely in the health zone of Panzi, territory of Kasongo-Lunda, a certain number of deaths have been reported in the community and in certain medical care structures. From November 10 to November 25, 67 deaths have been reported, the cause of which has not yet been identified. We are suspecting an epidemic that has not yet been named, > declared Appolinaire Yumba Tiabakwau, provincial minister of health of Kwango.

According to Mr. Yuma who told the press, the provincial government is working to dispatch a team of epidemiology experts to identify the real problem so that the epidemic can be identified.

<According to the information I have, the patients have symptoms including fever, headache, cough and anemia for children>, he said.

According to him, the team going to the field will take the sample which will be sent to the National Institute of Biomedical Research (INRB) for laboratory analysis. ACP/CL

https://acp.cd/sante/kwango-67-deces-dus-a-une-epidemie-dorigine-inconnue-enregistres-a-panzi/

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Kwango: a disease of unknown origin causes more than 60 deaths in less than a month in Panzi

Sunday, December 1, 2024 - 09:54

Sixty-seven people died between November 10 and 25 in Panzi health zone, Kwango province, from an as yet unidentified disease. According to the provincial health minister, symptoms observed in patients include "fever, headache, cough and anemia."

Apollinaire Yumba, provincial Minister of Health, announced that the provincial government has dispatched a team of epidemiological experts to the site to assess the situation and determine the nature of this disease.

"This epidemic has already caused the death of 67 people, which has alarmed the provincial government of Kwango. The governor has decided to send a team to the field to identify the problem, take samples and send them to the INRB (National Institute of Biomedical Research) for in-depth laboratory analysis," said Minister Yumba.

Jonathan Mesa, from Masi-Manimba

https://actualite.cd/2024/12/01/kwango-une-maladie-dorigine-inconnue-fait-plus-de-60-morts-en-moins-dun-mois-panzi

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Translation Google

Unknown disease kills 143 in southwest Congo, local authorities say

December 03, 2024 at 12:31 PM

An unknown disease killed 143 people in the southwestern province of Democratic Republic of Congo in November, local authorities told Reuters.

Those infected had flu-like symptoms, including high fever and severe headaches, Remy Saki, deputy governor of Kwango province, and Apollinaire Yumba, provincial health minister, said on Monday.

A medical team was sent to Panzi health zone to take samples and conduct analysis to identify the disease.

The situation is extremely worrying as the number of infected people continues to rise, Cephorien Manzanza, a civil society leader, told Reuters.

"Panzi is a rural health area, so there is a problem with the supply of medicines," Manzanza said.

The sick are dying at home for lack of treatment, Saki and Yumba said.

A local epidemiologist said women and children were most seriously affected by the disease.

A WHO spokesperson said Tuesday that the U.N. health agency was alerted to the disease last week and was working with Congo's public health ministry to conduct further investigations.

https://www.zonebourse.com/actualite-bourse/Une-maladie-inconnue-tue-143-personnes-dans-le-sud-ouest-du-Congo-selon-les-autorites-locales-48511350/

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Reuters link:

Unknown disease kills 143 in southwest Congo, local authorities say

By Reuters
December 3, 2024
...

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

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Translation Google

Kwango: At least 67 people killed by an unknown disease in 2 weeks

Published on Tue, 03/12/2024 - 13:16 | Modified on Tue, 03/12/2024 - 13:16

Sixty-seven people died in the last two weeks of November from an as yet unidentified disease that is raging in the Panzi health zone, in Kwango province.

According to the provincial Minister of Health of Kwango, Apollinaire Yumba, who raised the alarm on December 3, children are the most affected.

Symptoms observed in patients include fever, headaches, cough, paleness and anemia, he said.

" For the moment, the provincial government has dispatched a team of epidemiological experts who arrived this morning in Panzi to assess the situation. But it should be noted that along the way, before they arrived at the central office of the zone, they found many deaths in the health areas in the villages, always caused by this disease ," the minister stressed.

Apollinaire Yumba announces that the provincial government has already dispatched a team of epidemiological experts to the site to determine the nature of this disease. The team will notably take samples and send them to the National Institute of Biomedical Research (INRB) for in-depth analyses.

While waiting for answers on this disease, he calls on the population to respect hygiene rules.

The provincial Minister of Health also asks the population not to panic, but to limit their movements in and out of this health zone, while waiting to be informed.

He also pleads for compliance with the barrier measures observed during the COVID-19 epidemic, in particular, not shaking hands, washing hands regularly, staying at home if you have nothing important to do outside.

The presence of this unknown disease which is ravaging the population is also confirmed by the head of the Panzi sector, Alexis Kapenda, who calls for the involvement of the Government to save the population of this entity.

https://www.radiookapi.net/2024/12/03/actualite/sante/kwango-au-moins-67-personnes-decimees-par-une-maladie-inconnue-en-2

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Translation Google

DRC: Unknown disease kills dozens

John Kanyunyu | With agencies
3 minute(s) ago

The symptoms are similar to those of the flu. The epidemic is currently concentrated in the province of Kwango, in the west of the DRC.

An epidemic of unknown origin has caused dozens of deaths in the localities of Panzi, Kamucheke and Mukanza, in the province of Kwango, in the west of the Democratic Republic of Congo .

According to the province's vice-governor, Remy Saki, 143 deaths had been recorded as of December 2.

A team of health experts has been deployed to the site to take samples, which will be analyzed at the National Institute for Biomedical Research.

Listen to Vice Governor Remy Saki...
(Audio in French)

Remy Saki explained to DW that the authorities have "sent a team to the site that is taking samples and raising awareness among the population about certain measures to be taken, so that the epidemic cannot become widespread. Among these measures, for example, immigration officials have been asked to be able to limit the movements of the population and also to record the entries and exits of the population, people who come from surrounding villages, but also to practice the barrier measures previously practiced during the coronavirus period. Wearing a nose mask is also required."

Do not touch corpses

The disease is said to resemble the flu. Symptoms can include fever, headache and cough. There is also an abnormal drop in the level of hemoglobin in the blood , according to the provincial Minister of Health, Apollinaire Yumba.

The latter advises the population to refrain from any contact with the corpses in order to avoid any contamination.

He launched a national and international appeal for the sending of medical equipment.

According to an anonymous source within the World Health Organization, the WHO has also dispatched a team to the field.

https://www.dw.com/fr/rdc-une-maladie-inconnue-fait-des-dizaines-de-morts/a-70951688

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Excerpt from the audio:

Translated with Google:

"We want to point out that the death toll has increased...we did not know that there were also deaths in Kamucheke and Mukanza, and many other villages."

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Ministère de la santé/RDC
2h

#COMMUNIQUÉ


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Image translated by Google



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https://www.facebook.com/p/Minist%C3%A8re-de-la-sant%C3%A9RDC-100069067814722/

[alert]

79 deaths in 376 cases is probably too low for this to be a viral hemorrhagic fever like Ebola or Marburg, but also too high for something like malaria or COVID. Perhaps meningitis?

[yielddude]

The unidentified illness has killed 79 people and sickened 376 as of Tuesday, according to the country's Ministry of Public Health, Hygiene and Social Security.

In a statement on X, the ministry said the disease was of “still unknown origin” and had been detected in Kwango province in southwestern Congo.
Anne Rimoin, an epidemiologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, who has worked in Congo since 2002, said diagnosing the illnesses may be complicated by limited health care infrastructure and because of underlying health issues in some of the population, including malaria and malnutrition.

“I think it’s really important to be aware of what’s happening, and I think it’s also really important not to panic until we have more information,” she said.

“It could be anything," she added. "It could be influenza, it could be Ebola, it could be Marburg, it could be meningitis, it could be measles. At this point, we really just don’t know.”

Dr. Abraar Karan, an infectious disease physician at Stanford Medicine, said the outbreak “does raise alarm bells” because of its location. Interactions between humans and wildlife in Congo increase the risk of a pathogen spilling over from animals, he said, and “many animal infections that transmit from animal to human can cause pretty severe disease.”

To identify the disease, Karan said, local health officials will start by screening for common illnesses like flu or malaria, before testing for less common pathogens. If all those tests are negative, officials may genetically sequence tissue, blood, mucus or bone marrow from infected people, he said.
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...ens-rcna182804

[Treyfish]

Kwango: Disease of unknown origin causes more than 140 deaths in Panzi
A disease of unknown origin is raging in Panzi, Kwango province, already causing more than 143 deaths in the last two weeks, according to the deputy provincial governor who delivered the information. Epidemiologists announced to take samples to learn more about this disease.

According to the provincial Minister of Health, symptoms observed in patients include fever, headache, cough and anemia. He said children are the most affected. He called on the population to remain calm, while research reveals the cause of this disease.

For his part, Vice Governor Rémy Saki announced the imminent arrival of a team of epidemiological experts to collect samples to be sent to the National Institute for Biomedical Research (INRB). He also announced assistance in medical supplies from WHO, SANRU, UNICEF and provincial and national elected officials of Kwango to deal with this health crisis.




Gisele Mbuyi



04-December-2024

https://digitalcongo.org/detail11687

[Treyfish]

w Unidentified disease kills 27 in Democratic Republic of Congo, health officials say

AFP
4 Dec, 2024 02:41 PM

.....The illness, which causes fever, headaches and a cough, has so far affected people of all ages.

The cases have occurred in the region of Panzi, which has limited health facilities and lies around 700km (435 miles) southeast of the capital, Kinshasa.

“An unknown public health event” detected since October 24 has “already caused the deaths of 27 people out of a total of 382 people affected”, the National Institute of Public Health said in a report dated late Tuesday and sent to AFP.....

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/unidentified-disease-kills-27-in-democratic-republic-of-congo-health-officials-say/IJW2ITM52NBTPJY4ZLF7DYXIFQ/

[Treyfish]

WHO is investigating mystery illness behind 12 dozen deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

News
By Nicoletta Lanese
Between 67 and 143 people in the DRC have died of an unknown, flu-like disease, officials have said.


An unidentified, flu-like illness has killed dozens of people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to news reports.
The deaths were reported in the Kwango province, which is located in the southwestern portion of the country and shares a border with Angola to the south. Between Nov. 10 and Nov. 25, between 67 and 143 people died of the mystery illness in what's known as the Panzi health zone within the province, Rémy Saki, the deputy provincial governor, told The Associated Press (AP).
A spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO) told Reuters that the agency was alerted to the illnesses last week and that it's working with local authorities to investigate. WHO currently has a team on the ground collecting samples for analysis, an anonymous WHO employee told the AP.

Apollinaire Yumba, the provincial health minister, told the AP that officials are advising the public to exercise caution and refrain from contact with dead bodies to avoid potential infection...

https://www.livescience.com/health/viruses-infections-disease/who-is-investigating-mystery-illness-behind-12-dozen-deaths-in-the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo

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Translation Google

Unknown disease in Kwango: death toll rises from 70 to 130

Published on Thu, 05/12/2024 - 05:11 | Modified on Thu, 05/12/2024 - 05:16

The number of people who have died from an as yet unidentified disease in the Panzi health zone in Kwango has risen from around sixty to around one hundred in a matter of days.

According to the provincial Minister of Health, Apollinaire Yumba Tiabakwau, nearly 382 people presenting symptoms of this disease are registered in seven of the thirty health areas in this zone:

"What we had reported from November 10 to 25 was 67 deaths. Now, when the team went down yesterday, along the way, they found in a village where the medical team and civil society reported at least 20 deaths. And in another village that was not counted in the same period, they found at least 40 deaths, plus the 4 that were added today. Which makes 131 deaths as of today . "

This team of epidemiology experts was dispatched by the provincial government to Panzi to try to determine the nature of the disease and attempt to provide treatment.

" They are still on the ground in Panzi. "Concretely, they are taking samples (to be sent to INERB), raising awareness to limit the migratory movement of the population, teaching the population about barrier measures. They have given a batch of medicines that MP Jonathan Bialusuka Wata sent ," said Dr Apollinaire Yumba.

According to him, the National Ministry of Health has announced the dispatch of another team to the site to join and reinforce the one already on site for the care of the sick. "The active cases are there."

https://www.radiookapi.net/2024/12/05/actualite/sante/maladie-inconnue-au-kwango-le-nombre-de-deces-passe-de-70-130-morts

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DRC says it is on "maximum alert" in the face of a deadly "unknown disease"

French.news.cn | 2024-12-05 at 21:10

KINSHASA, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is on "maximum alert" over the emergence of an unknown disease that has killed more than 70 people, Public Health Minister Roger Kamba said Thursday.

This disease "of still unknown origin" reported in the Panzi area in the Kwango province (southwest), which has been described as an "epidemic", has affected 382 people since October 2024, who have presented symptoms that "resemble the flu", he indicated.

Seventy-one deaths have been reported so far, including 27 deaths in health facilities and 44 others in the communities, Mr Kamba said, adding that about 300 people had recovered.

However, according to the provincial Minister of Health, Apollinaire Yumba, quoted Thursday by local media, 131 deaths have been recorded since November 10 "to date".

Mr Kamba denied any "figure fight". "There are many figures that have been announced several times. We did not rush to communicate them because we cannot communicate on rumours," he insisted.

"We are on maximum alert. We consider that this is a level of epidemic that we must monitor in a maximum manner," assured Mr. Kamba.

"We are more or less in the affirmation that it is respiratory," added the minister. According to him, based on this hypothesis, the emergence of this disease coincides with the seasonal flu which begins from October to March with a peak in December.

Roger Kamba also cited the hypothesis of COVID-19, whose mortality rate is lower than that reported in Kwango. "These are hypotheses pending the results of the samples," the operations of which were prevented by the poor medical and logistical conditions on the ground, the minister acknowledged.

Specialized intervention teams have been sent to the field to identify the nature of the disease, he said. "We are still waiting for the first results." End

https://french.xinhuanet.com/20241205/c4ad8aba4bb7438fa1c175af13ec55a1/c.html

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Translation Google

“Unknown” disease, dozens dead: four questions on a troubling situation in the DRC

The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo, on "maximum alert", has put forward several explanatory hypotheses, while the WHO has sent a team to the site to analyse samples.

By Nicolas Berrod
December 5 , 2024 at 2:48 p.m.

Five years after the emergence of Covid , a new “unknown virus” could cause trouble in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) . Hundreds of people have fallen ill, dozens of them have died.

The situation is nevertheless very different and does not inspire the same concern on a global scale, although it intrigues scientists. "We are on maximum alert," stressed this Thursday the Minister of Public Health of the DRC, Samuel Roger Kamba Mulamba, during a press conference. We take stock.

1. What happened?

In late November, the government of the central African country was warned that many people were suffering from symptoms resembling severe flu syndrome (high fever, headache, runny nose, anemia, etc.) in a remote area of the country called Panzi. This area has " 71% of children suffering from malnutrition , one of the highest rates in the country," the Minister of Health said. 40% of the sick are children.

2. What is the exact death toll?

It is still uncertain, but it amounts to several dozen deaths minimum. "An unknown public health event" detected since October 24 has "already caused the death of 27 people out of a total of 382 people affected", according to the National Institute of Public Health, Hygiene and Social Prevention, in a report dated Tuesday evening.

But in a press release published on its Facebook page on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, the DRC Ministry of Public Health mentioned a much higher number, namely 79 deaths among 376 patients. And the day before, Tuesday, local authorities had indicated to the Reuters agency that the toll had risen to... 143 deaths!

Minister Samuel Roger Kamba Mulamba gave details this Thursday. 27 people died of this same disorder in hospital, including 10 due to a lack of transfusion, and 44 succumbed in other places. That is 71 in total, provided that the death is really still linked to this disease.

3. What are the possible hypotheses?

There are many. It could be a cluster of an already known disease, such as Ebola , hemorrhagic fever or virulent flu. The hypothesis of a less severe disease, such as Covid, seems unlikely due to the very high mortality rate. But it is not ruled out, as the population is generally in poor health and therefore more at risk of serious illness. The possibility of a new virus is not excluded either. In any case, "we can talk about a respiratory disease, because people die of severe respiratory distress," says Minister Samuel Roger Kamba Mulamba.

The mystery is all the more difficult to solve since "the DRC is one of the poorest countries on the planet but also one of the hottest spots for epidemic emergence," says epidemiologist Antoine Flahault. It has been the most affected by mpox (ex-monkeypox) for a year, for example. Due to a lack of resources (screening, prevention, etc.) and without a developed health system, it is complicated or even impossible to quickly identify the pathogen in question.

4. What are health authorities doing?

A doctor, three epidemiologists, a laboratory manager and several experts were dispatched to the scene as soon as the alert was received at the end of November, indicated Samuel Roger Kamba Mulamba. As access was difficult, they took two days to arrive. A first consolidated assessment was therefore announced on Tuesday, December 3.

The World Health Organization told us on Thursday that it had sent a team to the site "to collect samples for laboratory analysis." When asked when the results might be available, the agency was unable to respond. The DRC government expects them by the end of the week.

https://www.leparisien.fr/societe/sante/maladie-inconnue-dizaines-de-morts-quatre-questions-sur-une-situation-troublante-en-rdc-05-12-2024-M7XCKA676JG25MS76ZADPCEKII.php

[Treyfish]

Óscar A. Contreras reposted

Africa CDC
@AfricaCDC
Test results confirming the characteristics of a mysterious infection that has affected 376 people and claimed 79 lives in the #DRC, are expected on Friday or Saturday, says
@AfricaCDC
Director General Dr
@JeanKaseya2
. The #disease is particularly severe in children, with symptoms including flu-like signs, fever, headaches, coughing, difficulty breathing and anaemia. #InfectiousDiseases #EpidemicResponse #DiseaseOutbreak

[sharon sanders]

The chart does not add up to the words on the left.

[Treyfish]

The Ministry of Health in Congo will hold a press conference regarding the unidentified illness at 11 a.m. local time (5 a.m. ET).

[Mary Wilson]

Updated 10:24 AM CST, December 5, 2024

BY JEAN-YVES KAMALE AND MONIKA PRONCZUK

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Public health officials in Africa urged caution Thursday as Congo’s health minister said the government was on alert over a mystery flu-like disease that in recent weeks killed dozens of people.

Jean Kaseya, the head of Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told reporters that more details about the disease should be known in the next 48 hours as experts receive results from laboratory samples of infected people. ...

Authorities in Congo have so far confirmed 71 deaths, including 27 people who died in hospitals and 44 in the community in the southern Kwango province, health minister Roger Kamba said. ...

The Africa CDC recorded slightly different numbers, with 376 cases and 79 deaths. The discrepancy was caused by problems with surveillance and case definition, Kaseya said.

Authorities have said that symptoms include fever, headache, cough and anemia. ...

https://apnews.com/article/congo-mys...5e66d47ad48de4

[Treyfish]

CDC breaks silence as mystery flu-like infection kills dozens of children and sparks Covid-era travel restriction

• READ MORE: Health officials issue dire warning as mysterious illness emerges

By LUKE ANDREWS SENIOR HEALTH REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

PUBLISHED: 16:32 EST, 5 December 2024 | UPDATED: 17:20 EST, 5 December 2024

The CDC is 'standing ready' amid an outbreak of a mystery disease in Africa.
There are rising concerns about the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo where dozens of people have died from a flu-like respiratory illness.

A source at the CDC told DailyMail.com they were 'aware' of the outbreak and were in contact with health officials there 'and stand ready to provide additional support if needed'.

World Health Organization (WHO) has deployed a team to the southwestern province Kwango where the outbreak is being reported to take samples and test for the virus.

DRC health minister Roger Kamba said his country was currently on 'maximum alert' as they try to work out what's behind the 'epidemic' that has killed up to 143 people.

Most patients were children in their late teens, officials said, who suffered from symptoms including a fever, headache, cough and shortness of breath.

The symptoms suggest a respiratory virus — and, already, parallels are being drawn to the early days of the Covid pandemic.

Hong Kong became the first country to bring in health checks for arrivals from the DRC and Africa today, in an echo of measures taken to limit the spread …



A source at CDC told DailyMail.com in a statement: 'The CDC is aware of reports of an illness in southwest DRC.

'US Government staff, including those from US CDC's country office in Kinshasa [the DRC's capital], are in contact with the DRC's ministry of health and stand ready to provide additional support if needed.'

It was not clear how concerned the CDC was over the outbreak, or whether the agency plans to alert the nation's doctors. Read More

Health officials issue dire warning as mysterious flu-like illness kills 143


Tests on patients are currently being carried out in the DRC, with officials saying they expect to have the results before the end of the week.

There are no direct flights between the US and Kinshasa, according to flight monitoring websites, although passengers can still arrive via connecting flights.

This may include catching connecting flights in Johannesburg, South Africa, or in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Officials say it is taking days to establish the illness behind the outbreak because the cases are in a remote part of the country, which took two days for the health team to reach.

It is not clear what disease could be causing the outbreak at this point, but officials say it could be a respiratory disease.

Experts speaking to DailyMail.com said the symptoms were 'non-specific' and they needed more information.

Dr Annie Rimoin, an epidemiologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, who has worked in Congo since 2002, told NBC News that diagnosing the illnesses may be complicated by underlying health issues in the local population, including malaria and malnutrition.

'I think it's really important to be aware of what's happening, and I think it's also really important not to panic until we have more information,' she said.

'It could be anything,' she added. 'It could be influenza, it could be Ebola, it could be measles. At this point, we really just don’t know.'

Dr Krutika Kuppalli, an infectious diseases expert and associate professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, said that at this stage it was difficult to tell what was causing the outbreak because only general symptoms had been reported.

'We need more information,' she told DailyMail.com, 'the information that has been provided at present speaks of a number of diseases'.

Asked whether it could be monkeypox or Ebola, she said: 'In what they are reporting, we have not seen any reports of skin rash or skin abnormality — which would go with mpox.

'Typically, with viral hemorrhagic fever [like Ebola] you would hear reports of coughing or throwing up blood, and that has not been reported either.'

She added: 'The reports are concerning, but we need more data and more information about the symptoms they are seeing on the ground.'


The above map shows the DRC, and highlights the province of Kwango where the outbreak has been
Most of the cases were children in their late teens, aged between 15 and 18 years old according to the BBC.



https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/a...sease-dcr.html