Mystery illness kills 50 people in Congo

A rapidly spreading unknown illness has killed more than 50 people in northwestern Congo over the past five weeks, with health experts struggling to identify the cause.

According to the Africa office of the World Health Organization (WHO), the disease which was first discovered in three children who ate a bat, has recorded 419 cases and 53 deaths since it emerged on 21 January.

The children, who fell ill in the village of Boloko, died within 48 hours, and the illness has since spread to other areas, including Bomate, where a second outbreak was reported on 9 February.

Serge Ngalebato, medical director of Bikoro Hospital, described the disease’s progression as alarming. “The interval between the onset of symptoms – which include fever, vomiting and internal bleeding – and death has been 48 hours in most cases and that’s what’s really worrying,” he said.

The symptoms resemble those of hemorrhagic fever diseases such as Ebola, Marburg, dengue and yellow fever. 

However, researchers have ruled out these viruses based on tests conducted on more than a dozen samples. Some of the samples tested positive for malaria, but experts remain uncertain whether malaria alone is responsible for the outbreak.

The WHO has previously warned about the risks of diseases jumping from animals to humans in regions where wild animals are commonly consumed. In 2022, the organisation reported a 60% increase in such outbreaks across Africa over the past decade.

Health officials in Kinshasa are continuing their investigation, recalling a similar case last year in another part of Congo, where a mystery flu-like illness that claimed dozens of lives was eventually linked to malaria.

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