A deadly illness in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has killed at least 53 people and sickened hundreds more, according to reporting cited by the Associated Press and updates from the World Health Organization’s African Region.
The cause remains unknown.
Cases reportedly began rising on Jan. 21 in Boloko, a village in Equateur province, after three children ate a bat and later developed symptoms described as consistent with hemorrhagic fever, according to the AP. The children died within 48 hours.
“That’s what’s really worrying,” Serge Ngalebato, medical director of Bikoro Hospital, told the AP.
As of Monday, 419 cases had been reported, including 53 deaths, according to the AP.
## Symptoms Reported by WHO
In a Feb. 16 bulletin, the World Health Organization listed symptoms associated with the outbreak, including fever, chills, headache, muscle pain, body aches, sweating, runny nose, neck stiffness, cough, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps.
Those symptoms overlap with several infectious diseases, which is one reason investigators have not yet identified a confirmed cause.
## A Second Cluster Emerges
A second outbreak was reported on Feb. 9 in Bomate, a village northeast of Boloko.
After that cluster emerged, samples were sent to the National Institute for Biomedical Research in Kinshasa, the DRC’s capital, for testing.
According to the source reporting, tests for Ebola, dengue, Marburg, and yellow fever came back negative. Some samples tested positive for malaria.
That does not necessarily mean malaria explains all cases or deaths. Health authorities are continuing to investigate the cluster, including through expanded disease surveillance and interviews with community members, according to WHO African Region.
## Why Investigators Are Looking at Animal Exposure
The reported link to children eating a bat has raised concern about a possible zoonotic source — an infection that moves from animals to humans. However, the cause of the outbreak has not been confirmed, and the bat exposure should be treated as one reported clue, not proof.
WHO African Region has previously warned that zoonotic outbreaks are becoming more common on the continent. In a 2022 analysis, the agency said Africa saw a 63 percent increase in zoonotic outbreaks during 2012-2022 compared with 2001-2011.
“Infections originating in animals and then jumping to humans have been happening for centuries, but the risk of mass infections and deaths had been relatively limited in Africa. Poor transport infrastructure acted as a natural barrier,” Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa, said at the time.
“However, with improved transportation in Africa, there is an increased threat of zoonotic pathogens traveling to large urban centres. We must act now to contain zoonotic diseases before they can cause widespread infections and stop Africa from becoming a hotspot for emerging infectious diseases,” Moeti said.
## What Is Known — and What Is Not
Known: hundreds of illnesses have been reported, dozens of people have died, and several major viral hemorrhagic fevers reportedly tested negative in early samples.
Not yet known: the confirmed cause, whether a single pathogen explains all cases, how the illness is spreading, or what role, if any, the reported bat exposure played.
For now, the investigation remains active, and the most important public-health question is unresolved: whether this is a known disease appearing in an alarming cluster, a mixed outbreak involving more than one illness, or something health officials have not yet identified.
