Undetermined Illness Causes 53 Deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo

The World Health Organization (WHO) is reporting that there has been 419 reported cases and 53 deaths stemming from a unknown disease or virus in 2 villages in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). WHO officials report the outbreak began in the village of Boloko after 3 children ate a bat and died within 48 hours. The illness has since spread to another village, Bomate. The outbreak began in January and, in a matter of weeks, has spread to more than 400 confirmed cases.¹ Presentation of the illness has been similar to other hemorrhagic fevers such as Ebola and Marsburg. However, further testing has ruled out those diseases.¹

The time of onset of symptoms and death has been 48 hours in the majority of cases. "That’s what’s really worrying,” said Serge Ngalebato, medical director of Bikoro Hospital, a regional monitoring center.¹

Zoonotic and vector-borne illnesses continue to be problematic in various regions of the world. In the US, avian influenza has been causing handfuls of cases amongst farm workers. And in the DRC, another mysterious illness outbreak was discovered to be malaria.²

That outbreak, which began in late October in the Panzi health zone, affected 592 people, with a case-fatality rate of 6.2% as of mid-December. Initial symptoms of the disease included fever, headache, cough, breathing difficulties, and weakness, prompting local authorities to notify health officials.²

Coincidentally, some of those affected by this latest outbreak have also been diagnosed with malaria.

Just last week, Chinese researchers discovered a virus, HKU5-CoV lineage 2 (HKU5-CoV-2) in bats. This merbecovirus can use human ACE2 as a cell entry receptor to infect organisms, including the potential to infect people.³

Despite disease surveillance continuing to be a paramount need, the US public health policy has moved away from it. Last month, the Trump Administration issued an executive order announcing its withdrawal from WHO. The organization has served as a partner to the global community on disease surveillance, preventative initiatives, and clinical care.

The executive order stated it was, “due to the organization’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China, and other global health crises, its failure to adopt urgently needed reforms, and its inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states. In addition, the WHO continues to demand unfairly onerous payments from the United States, far out of proportion with other countries’ assessed payments. China, with a population of 1.4 billion, has 300 percent of the population of the United States, yet contributes nearly 90 percent less to the WHO."⁴

References
1. Kamale J. A mystery illness in Congo has killed more than 50 people hours after they felt sick. AP. February 25, 2025. Accessed February 26, 2025.
https://apnews.com/article/congo-mystery-unknown-illness-cd8b1fdcb3b2ed032968b2c6044dc6db
2. Abene S. Severe Malaria Identified as Cause of Outbreak in DRC's Kwango Province. Contagion. December 18, 2024. Accessed February 26, 2025.
https://www.contagionlive.com/view/severe-malaria-identified-as-cause-of-outbreak-in-drc-s-kwango-province
3. Parkinson J. New Bat Coronavirus Has Capacity to Spread to Humans. Contagion. February 21, 2025. Accessed February 26, 2025.
https://www.contagionlive.com/view/new-bat-coronavirus-has-capacity-to-spread-to-humans
4. Parkinson J. Will Trump Administration’s Funding Pauses, Withdrawal from WHO Hamper Public Health? Contagion. January 31, 2025. Accessed February 26, 2025.
https://www.contagionlive.com/view/will-trump-administration-s-funding-pauses-withdrawal-from-who-hamper-public-health-