An unidentified illness, first detected in three children who consumed a bat, has claimed more than 50 lives in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) over the past five weeks, health workers report.
As of February 16, a total of 431 cases and 53 deaths have been recorded across two outbreaks in remote villages of Équateur province, according to a bulletin from the World Health Organization (WHO).
“These outbreaks, which have seen cases surge within days, present a significant public health threat. The exact cause remains unknown,” WHO spokesperson Tarik Jašarević said in a Tuesday briefing. He noted that the affected villages have limited health infrastructure and surveillance capacity.
The larger outbreak, reported on February 13 in Bomate village within the Basankusu health zone, has resulted in 45 deaths out of 419 cases.
Dr. Serge Ngalebato, medical director of Bikoro hospital—a regional monitoring center—expressed concern over the rapid disease progression. “The interval between symptom onset—including fever, vomiting, and internal bleeding—and death has been just 48 hours in most cases, which is particularly alarming,” he said.
Laboratory tests on 13 samples have ruled out Ebola and Marburg virus. However, WHO teams are investigating other possible causes, such as malaria, food poisoning, typhoid, meningitis, or other viral hemorrhagic fevers.
A separate outbreak was reported on January 21 in Boloko village, within the Bolomba health zone, resulting in eight deaths among 12 cases. This cluster was traced back to three children under five who died earlier that month after experiencing fever, fatigue, and later hemorrhagic symptoms like nosebleeds and vomiting blood. Reports indicate they had eaten a dead bat before falling ill.
Additional cases were found in Boloko and nearby Dondo village, all exhibiting similar symptoms. However, WHO has not yet established a link between the two outbreaks.
“We are assessing whether this is another infection or a toxic agent,” Jašarević said, referencing past outbreaks of unknown origin in the DRC. A similar case in December was ultimately identified as malaria.
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