A mysterious illness has claimed 53 lives and infected at least 419 people in the northwestern Equateur province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic described the outbreak as alarming, with cases rising rapidly over just a few days. Despite extensive testing, samples have tested negative for Ebola and Marburg, leaving health officials scrambling to determine the cause.
The outbreak was first reported on January 21 in two remote villages over 120 miles apart, raising questions about possible links between the cases. The mode of transmission remains unclear, particularly whether human-to-human spread is involved.
One concerning detail emerged from WHO’s Africa office: in one village, the first reported victims were children who had consumed a bat and died within 48 hours.
Jasarevic underscored the urgent need for international support, pointing to the severe logistical challenges in the affected areas. With limited lab capacity, poor surveillance systems, and difficult terrain, local health teams face major obstacles in diagnosing and containing the outbreak.
Authorities are working to transport samples to better-equipped laboratories as investigations continue.
