A deadly illness sweeping through northwest Democratic Republic of Congo has claimed at least 50 lives this month, officials confirmed Thursday.
Health authorities suspect malaria or food poisoning as the cause, with 943 others falling ill in Equateur province, experiencing fever, fatigue, vomiting, and severe weight loss.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported 1,096 suspected cases and 60 deaths, aligning with the outbreak’s symptoms and regional health data.
“For now, our diagnosis is malaria, and we also suspect food poisoning,” said Dieudonne Mwamba, director general of the National Institute of Public Health.
Mwamba dismissed fears of an unknown or mysterious disease, emphasizing that affected children had consumed bushmeat before symptoms emerged.
A WHO bulletin on February 16 highlighted reports that some victims had eaten a bat carcass before falling sick, raising concerns over foodborne illness.
Preliminary testing ruled out viral hemorrhagic fever, while 78% of collected samples tested positive for malaria, supporting the current diagnosis.
“There are five affected villages, and the diagnosis increasingly points toward malaria,” said Ngashi Ngongo from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).
The WHO is intensifying surveillance efforts and collaborating with local health officials to conduct further investigations into the outbreak’s origins.
A similar outbreak in December, initially shrouded in uncertainty, was ultimately identified as a severe malaria surge, health experts noted.
