A virus that has killed dozens of people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and develops rapidly could share one key characteristic with Covid, doctors have warned
Top doctors have identified one key detail about a mystery illness that can lead to death in just a matter of hours.
More than 50 deaths have been reported in the north-west of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from an unknown disease which causes a rapid onset of symptoms, according to the The World Health Organisation. Doctors say they have treated hundreds of cases and found a small, two-day interval between the first signs of illness and deaths.
Now, the WHO has warned that the infection may be the result of another virus jumping the barrier from humans to animals – the same type of crossover believed to have caused the Covid pandemic.
The WHO said the outbreak of the mystery illness began just over a month ago on January 21, and that 419 cases have been recorded between then and mid-February. Since then, there have been 53 deaths, suggesting 12.49% mortality rate – far above the official 3.14% rate for Covid. Serge Ngalebato, medical director of Bikoro Hospital, a regional monitoring centre, described the short amount of time between onset of symptoms and deaths as “worrying”.
WHO’s Africa office said the outbreak began in the town of Boloko began after three children had eaten a bat. They died within 48 hours after suffering symptoms of a haemorrhagic fever. It is only the latest infection to occur from transmission from animals to humans, and number of these outbreaks in Africa has increased by about 60% in the last decade, the WHO said in 2022.
A the second outbreak of the mystery disease unfolded in the town of Bomate on February 9. Samples from 13 cases have since been sent to the National Institute for Biomedical Research in the capital, Kinshasa, for testing, the WHO said. All samples have been negative for Ebola or other common haemorrhagic fever diseases, such as Marburg, while other tested positive for malaria.
In 2024, a similar mystery flu-like illness that claimed dozens of lives in another region of the country was identified as likely being malaria. The latest outbreak comes at an inauspicious time for the DR Congo, which is also battling an mpox outbreak and an ongoing conflict with rebels backed by neighbouring Rwanda.