KINSHASA — According to both local doctors and the World Health Organization (WHO), a yet-to-be-identified illness has caused the deaths of over 50 individuals in the northwestern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Serge Ngalebato, the medical director at Bikoro Hospital, a regional surveillance center, told the Associated Press that a key concern is the rapid progression of the illness, with death occurring within 48 hours of symptom onset in most cases.
The current outbreak of the unidentified disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo began on January 21, with 419 cases reported, including 53 fatalities.
The WHO Africa office reports that the initial outbreak occurred in Boloko when three children consumed a bat and died within two days, exhibiting symptoms consistent with hemorrhagic fever.
There have been long-standing concerns about the transmission of diseases from animals to humans, particularly in regions where the consumption of wild animals is common. The WHO reported in 2022 that the number of such outbreaks in Africa has increased by over 60% in the past decade.
Following a second outbreak of the mysterious illness in Bomate on February 9, the WHO stated that samples from 13 cases have been dispatched to the National Institute for Biomedical Research in Kinshasa, the capital of Congo, for laboratory analysis.
Testing has ruled out Ebola and other typical hemorrhagic fever diseases such as Marburg. Some samples tested positive for malaria.
Last year, a different unidentified flu-like illness that resulted in dozens of deaths in another region of Congo was ultimately attributed to suspected cases of malaria.
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