26-2-2025 (CONGO) In a deeply concerning development across northwestern Congo, an unidentified illness exhibiting haemorrhagic fever symptoms has claimed 53 lives and infected 419 people over just five weeks, leaving health authorities scrambling for answers.
The Africa office of the World Health Organization confirmed on Monday that the outbreak originated in the village of Boloko following a tragic incident where three children consumed a bat and subsequently died within a mere 48-hour period. This incident, occurring on 21st January, marked the beginning of a rapidly spreading health crisis that has baffled medical experts.
“The interval between symptom onset and death being just 48 hours in most cases is what’s truly alarming,” explained Serge Ngalebato, medical director at Bikoro Hospital, which serves as the regional monitoring facility for the outbreak. Patients typically present with fever, vomiting, and internal bleeding—symptoms commonly associated with deadly viruses such as Ebola, Marburg, dengue, and yellow fever.
However, in a puzzling development, researchers have ruled out these known pathogens following extensive testing. Samples from 13 cases were dispatched to the National Institute for Biomedical Research in Kinshasa after a second outbreak emerged in Bomate village on 9th February. While all specimens tested negative for common haemorrhagic fever diseases, some returned positive results for malaria.
This outbreak adds to growing concerns about zoonotic disease transmission in regions where bushmeat consumption remains common practice. The WHO reported in 2022 that Africa has witnessed a troubling 60% surge in such animal-to-human disease jumps over the past decade.
The current situation bears similarities to another mysterious illness that swept through a different region of Congo last year, ultimately determined to be primarily malaria-related despite its unusual presentation and mortality rate.
