According to doctors from the DRC and global health authorities, an unknown disease has killed more than 50 people in the country and in most cases, those falling ill were dead after 48 hours of the onset of symptoms.
Serge Ngalebato, the medical director of Bikoro Hospital, a regional monitoring centre, told the Associated Press that the most concerning aspect of the illness is that most infected individuals die exactly 48 hours after falling ill.
The latest disease outbreak started in the northwestern part of the Central African country on 21 January 2025. Since then, authorities have recorded 419 cases, including 53 deaths. Concerns about diseases jumping from animals to humans have persisted in areas where people commonly eat wild animals.
In January, the outbreak linked to three deaths occurred within 48 hours among children under five years old in the village earlier that month. Symptoms including fever and fatigue progressed to haemorrhagic signs such as nosebleeds and vomiting blood. Reports indicated that the children had eaten a dead bat before falling ill. The other cases found in Boloko and the nearby Dondo village, all with similar symptoms.
Risk to Public Health
According to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Africa office, it was the first outbreak in the town of Boloko which began with the three children. The WHO equally said the outbreak poses a significant to public health.
““The outbreaks, which have seen cases rise rapidly within days, pose a significant public health threat. The exact cause remains unknown,” a WHO spokesperson, Tarik Jasarevic, told a briefing on Tuesday.
13 cases have already tested negative for Ebola and Marburg, but the WHO assured that health teams are locally investigating other potential causes, including malaria, food poisoning, typhoid, meningitis or other viral haemorrhagic fevers.
The WHO stated that no links exist between the two clusters of cases.
“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,” said Jašarević, noting similar outbreaks in the past.
