| Event code | EH-HCI/06628/COD |
|---|---|
| Main category | Epidemic Hazard |
| Sub category | highly infectious human disease |
| Event date (UTC) | Tue, 25 Feb 2025 08:28:26 +0000 |
| Last update (UTC) | Fri, 28 Feb 2025 12:31:37 +0000 |
| Continent | Africa |
|---|---|
| Country | Congo |
| Administration area | Province of Équateur |
| Settlement | Boloko |
| Exact location | |
| Open Location Code: | 6GH5M2PJ+X6 |
| Size of affected area | County-level |
| Additional events | None or not detected. |
| Urgency | Past |
|---|---|
| Certainty | Observed |
| Severity | Extreme |
| Category | Health |
More than 50 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo's north-west have died of an unidentified illness, doctors on the ground and the World Health Organization (WHO) have confirmed. The outbreak began on January 21, and 419 cases have since been recorded, including 53 deaths. In the majority of cases, the interval between the onset of symptoms and death is 48 hours. "That's really worrying," said Serge Ngalebato, the medical director of Bikoro Hospital in a regional monitoring centre. The WHO's Africa office said the first outbreak in the town of Boloko began after three children ate a bat and died within 48 hours following hemorrhagic fever symptoms. There have long been concerns about diseases jumping from animals to humans in places where wild animals are popularly eaten, the Associated Press reports. The WHO said in 2022 that the number of such outbreaks in Africa had surged by more than 60 percent in the past decade. After the outbreak of the current mystery disease began in the town of Bomate on February 9, samples from 13 cases were sent to the National Institute for Biomedical Research in Congo's capital, Kinshasa, for testing, the WHO said. All samples tested negative for Ebola or other common hemorrhagic fever diseases such as Marburg. Some tested positive for malaria.
Health officials are still trying to understand what may be behind a mystery disease outbreak that has surpassed 1,000 cases and killed at least 60 people in northwest Congo. Nearly 1,100 cases have been reported since the outbreaks were first discovered in two villages more than 100 miles apart in late January, and the death toll has risen by at least seven in recent days. While malaria — a mosquito-borne disease — is prevalent in Congo's Equateur province, the World Health Organization has not yet ruled out other causes. The U.N. health agency said in an update Thursday that it is unclear if the outbreaks are related. “Detailed epidemiological and clinical investigations, as well as further laboratory testing, are (still) needed,” WHO's Africa office said. Africa’s top public health agency said infections have been detected in at least five villages, and the agency is investigating whether water or food could be the cause of the infections, along with flu and typhoid. However, tests are “pointing toward malaria,” Dr. Ngashi Ngongo of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in an online briefing on Thursday. The first outbreak was detected in the village of Boloko after three children ate a bat and died within 48 hours. WHO has recorded 12 cases and eight deaths in Boloko. Nearly half of the people who died did so within hours of the onset of symptoms, health officials said this week. The village of Bomate, which is about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from Boloko, has been hardest hit: 98 percent of the cases and 86 percent of deaths have been recorded in Bomate in the Basankusu health zone, WHO said. Of 571 patients in Basankusu who were tested for malaria, 309 — 54.1 percent) tested positive, it said. Patients have shown common malaria symptoms such as fever and body aches. Other symptoms include chills, sweating, stiff neck, runny or bleeding nose, cough, vomiting, and diarrhoea. Eddy Djoboke said he and his family fled Bomate because they were afraid of falling sick. After they left, one of his children complained his neck and stomach hurt, suggesting he may have been infected before they fled. “We were asked to have tests done, and we are waiting for what happens next," Djoboke said. Marthe Biyombe said her child became infected in Bomate and was suffering from body aches and fever. She said the hospital struggled to treat her child because of a lack of medication, but that she was able to buy drugs privately, and WHO doctors eventually arrived with more supplies. “When we arrived at the hospital, we went two weeks without medicine. There were no medicines, and we bought the medicines elsewhere (before) the WHO doctors came and started giving us the medicines,” Biyombe said. She did not describe the drugs given to her child. Experts say access to the sick has been hindered by the remote locations of the affected villages and that several people died before medical teams were able to reach them.
A chilling wave of a mysterious illness has gripped the Democratic Republic of the Congo, leaving health experts baffled as the death toll rises rapidly. With over 400 reported cases and 53 deaths since January 21, the World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a stark warning, calling the outbreak a "significant public health threat". The unidentified disease has spread like wildfire across two remote communities, sparking fears of a new epidemic. The outbreak began in the northwestern Équateur Province, with initial reports linking the first few deaths to the consumption of bat carcasses — a chilling reminder of past zoonotic disease outbreaks like Ebola. What started as an isolated tragedy in Boloko village soon spread to Bomate village, separated by over 120 miles, leaving doctors scrambling to understand the disease's origin and transmission pattern. Despite rigorous testing, health officials have ruled out Ebola and Marburg virus, two of the region's most notorious killers. The rapid spread and exceptionally high fatality rate have left experts on edge, with nearly half of the deaths occurring within 48 hours of the first symptoms. The mysterious illness presents with common but alarming symptoms, including fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, muscle aches, headaches, and fatigue — a clinical cocktail that initially led doctors to suspect hemorrhagic fevers. However, lab tests quickly dispelled those fears, deepening the mystery. With malaria, typhoid fever, and meningitis still under investigation, health officials are racing against time to pinpoint the cause before the disease spirals out of control. The speed of the outbreak and its high mortality rate have raised alarm bells within the WHO. Experts fear the illness could be linked to wildlife consumption and Congo's sprawling rainforests, which serve as natural reservoirs for countless pathogens. "All these viruses have reservoirs in the forest," said Gabriel Nsakala, a professor of public health at Congo’s National Pedagogical University. "As long as we have these forests, we will always have a few epidemics with viruses that will mutate." The theory echoes the devastating origins of previous outbreaks, where zoonotic diseases crossed from animals to humans, often in remote regions where healthcare infrastructure is weakest. Health experts were deployed to both affected villages on February 14, setting up monitoring systems and providing medical care. However, the remote locations and fragile healthcare systems pose significant challenges. The WHO has launched metagenomic sequencing — an advanced genetic analysis — to unlock the mystery behind the illness. In the meantime, the agency is urging "urgent action" to prevent further spread and investigate other possible causes like food or water poisoning. While the outbreak remains contained within Congo, the speed of transmission and uncertainty surrounding the disease have set off global alarms. Experts fear that without swift containment, the illness could cross borders — just as past epidemics have done. With the world's eyes on the Congo, the question lingers: Is this the next pandemic brewing in the heart of the rainforest? For now, the mystery remains unsolved, but health authorities warn that every passing day without answers raises the risk of an epidemic that could echo far beyond Africa's green heart.
| Number of dead: | 60 person(s) |
|---|---|
| Number of injured: | 0 person(s) |
| Number of Affected: | 0 person(s) |
| Number of Rescued/evacuated: | 0 person(s) |
| Number of Missing: | 0 person(s) |
| Number of Infected: | 1000 person(s) |
| Name of disease | Unspecified viral haemorrhagic fever |
|---|---|
| Biosafety level | Level 4 - Hazardous |
| Pathogen | virus |
| Spacies | Human |
| Infection status | confirmed |
| Additional information | |
| Symptoms: |
| Code2 | CD |
|---|---|
| Code | COD |
| Name | Congo, The Democratic Republic of the |
| LocalName | RĂ©publique DĂ©mocratique du Congo |
| GovernmentForm | Republic |
| Continent | Africa |
| Region | Central Africa |
| SurfaceArea | 2344858.00 |
| IndepYear | 1960 |
| Population | 51654000 |
| LifeExpectancy | 48.8 |
| GNP | 6964.00 |
| GNPOld | 2474.00 |
| Capital | 2298 |