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Mystery illness kills more than 50 people in Democratic Republic of Congo

More than 400 cases have been recorded since the outbreak in January, with most deaths occurring within 48 hours of the onset of symptoms.

A health worker carries medication to be giving to a man suffering for mpox at the Kamituga General Hospital in South Kivu Congo, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
Image: File pic: AP
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An unknown disease has killed more than 50 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to doctors.

The World Health Organisation's (WHO) Africa office said the first outbreak was discovered in the town of Boloko, in the northwest of the country.

It is reported that three children ate a bat and died following haemorrhagic fever symptoms.

The interval between the onset of symptoms and death has been 48 hours in the majority of cases.

"That's what's really worrying," Serge Ngalebato, medical director of Bikoro Hospital, a regional monitoring centre, told the news agency, The Associated Press.

Map showing the location of an unknown illness which has killed over 50 people in part of Congo
Image: An outbreak was reported in Boloko in January followed by more cases in Bomate in February

The outbreak began on 21 January and 419 cases have been recorded including 53 deaths.

There was a second outbreak of the mystery illness in the town of Bomate on 9 February.

Samples from 13 cases have been sent for testing to the National Institute for Biomedical Research in the DRC's capital, Kinshasa, the WHO said.

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All samples have been negative for Ebola or other common haemorrhagic fever diseases like Marburg. Some tested positive for malaria.

Last year, another mystery flu-like illness which killed dozens of people in another part of Congo was considered likely to be malaria.

Read more:
Rebels take second city in DRC

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Scientists have had concerns for a long time about diseases jumping from animals to humans in places where wild animals are eaten.

The number of these types of outbreaks in Africa has surged by more than 60% in the last decade, the WHO said in 2022.