Mystery Congo Disease Leaves 50 People Dead: What We Know

At least 50 people have died from a mystery illness discovered in three children who ate a dead bat, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Newsweek has contacted the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), via email, for comment.

Why It Matters

Multiple deaths have taken place during this outbreak “which has seen cases rise rapidly within days, and poses a significant public health threat,” WHO said.

What To Know

Some 53 people have died and 419 cases have been reported in eastern areas since the outbreak began on January 21, local health officials said in an update.

It started in the village of Boloko, where the first three victims died within 48 hours of eating a bat, according to the Africa office of the WHO.

This outbreak spread to nearby Danda Village, before a second, larger outbreak took place in Bomate Village, where more than 400 people were infected.

Symptoms include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, nose bleeds and fatigue. There was generally a 48-hour interval between the onset of symptoms and death.

The number of outbreaks caused by diseases jumping from animals to humans, usually occurring in places where wild animals are eaten, has surged by more than 60 percent in the last decade, the WHO said in 2022.

What People Are Saying

WHO said: “Urgent action is needed to accelerate laboratory investigations, improve case management and isolation capacities, and strengthen surveillance and risk communication. The remote location and weak health care infrastructure increase the risk of further spread, requiring immediate high-level intervention to contain the outbreak.”

WHO spokesperson Tarik Jašarević told a briefing on Tuesday: “The exact cause remains unknown.” He also said: “We are looking into whether it is another infection or whether it is some toxic agent. We have to see what can be done and at what point WHO can support.”

What Happens Next

Health officials are still investigating other potential causes for the mass illness, such as Ebola, Marburg, malaria, food poisoning, typhoid or meningitis.

Ebola and Marburg have already been “ruled out,” WHO said, after multiple samples were sent to the National Institute for Biomedical Research in Congo’s capital, Kinshasa—although some tested positive for malaria.

The “key challenges include the rapid progression of the disease, with nearly half the deaths occurring within 48 hours of symptom onset in one of the affected health zones, and an exceptionally high case fatality rate in another,” WHO said.