The outbreak of a currently unknown disease in northwest Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has seen hundreds of people sickened and more than 50 killed since mid-January, health officials have reported.
In a February 16 bulletin, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that “two clusters of cases and deaths from an unknown disease have emerged” in the country’s Équateur Province, with a total of 431 cases and 53 deaths across both clusters of the outbreak.
“The outbreak, which has seen cases rise rapidly within days, poses a significant public health threat,” the organization stated. Local healthcare services, it added, don’t have the infrastructure in place to deal with so many cases and as a result, are “overwhelmed”.
Health officials are also concerned by the rapid progression of the disease; in the latest area reported to be affected, Bomate Village, nearly half of the deaths seen occurred within 48 hours of symptoms – including fever, vomiting, and diarrhea – first appearing. In the initial outbreak cluster, some cases also had nosebleeds and had blood in their stool and vomit, which could be signs of internal bleeding.
Preliminary investigations have indicated the outbreak may have originated with the deaths of three young children in Boloko Village, with reports suggesting that all three had eaten a bat carcass before they became sick.
While bats are known to be reservoirs for a number of diseases that can infect humans, the exact cause of the illness remains unknown.
“The overall case fatality ratio […] and the rapid disease progression raise concerns about a severe infectious or toxic agent,” said the WHO bulletin. The hemorrhagic symptoms of the illness are similar to those caused by the Ebola and Marburg viruses, both of which have broken out in the DRC before, but testing has ruled both out.
“Further laboratory testing is critical to identify the causative pathogen,” the WHO added. “Differential diagnosis under investigation include malaria, viral haemorrhagic fever, food or water poisoning, typhoid fever, and meningitis.”
It’s also not clear if the two outbreak clusters are directly related to each other, with the WHO stating that a “lack of clear epidemiological links between the two health zones may suggest separate health events.”
This isn’t the first mystery disease that has struck the DRC in recent times. In December 2024, it was reported that there were over 800 reported cases of an unknown illness with symptoms including fever, coughing, weakness, and difficulty breathing in the country’s Kwango Province. Investigations went on to find that the illness was in fact an outbreak of acute respiratory infections complicated by malaria.
