A mysterious illness, first detected in three children who consumed a bat, has claimed over 50 lives in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) within the past five weeks, health officials report.
As of 16 February, there have been 431 cases and 53 deaths across two outbreaks in remote villages of Équateur province, according to a World Health Organization (WHO) bulletin.
“These rapidly spreading outbreaks present a serious public health threat, though the exact cause remains unknown,” said WHO spokesperson Tarik Jašarević during a briefing on Tuesday. He highlighted the challenges posed by the affected villages’ limited health infrastructure and surveillance capacity.
The larger outbreak, reported on 13 February in Bomate village within the Basankusu health zone, has resulted in 45 deaths from 419 cases.
Dr. Serge Ngalebato, medical director of Bikoro hospital, a regional monitoring center, expressed concern over the illness’s rapid progression. “The time from symptom onset—fever, vomiting, and internal bleeding—to death is just 48 hours in most cases, which is extremely alarming,” he said.
Initial tests on 13 samples ruled out Ebola and Marburg viruses. The WHO stated that local health teams are investigating other potential causes, such as malaria, food poisoning, typhoid, meningitis, or other viral hemorrhagic fevers.
The earlier outbreak, reported on 21 January in Boloko village within the Bolomba health zone, resulted in eight deaths among 12 cases. It was linked to three fatalities in children under five earlier that month, who developed fever, fatigue, and severe hemorrhagic symptoms, including nosebleeds and vomiting blood.
The WHO has yet to establish a connection between the two outbreaks.
“We are investigating whether this is an infection or a toxic agent,” Jašarević said, adding that similar outbreaks in the past had been attributed to various causes. In December, a reported outbreak of unknown origin in the DRC was ultimately identified as malaria.
