Mystery illness spreading in Congo rapidly kills dozens
The World Health Organization said 53 people have died in an outbreak that originated in a village where three children ate a bat carcass


What happened
At least 53 people have died in two clusters of an unknown illness in the Democratic Republican of Congo, the World Health Organization said Tuesday. The outbreak, in Equateur province, was traced back to three children under age 5 in one village who had eaten a dead bat. The children, like a significant portion of the other fatalities, had symptoms similar to a hemorrhagic fever — nosebleeds, diarrhea, fever and vomiting blood — and died within 48 hours.
Who said what
The WHO said that with 431 cases as of Feb. 16 and a fatality rate of 12.3%, the outbreak posed a "significant public health threat." All 18 samples sent to Kinshasa for testing came back negative for common hemorrhagic fever diseases such as Ebola and Marburg, the WHO said, and the "exact cause remains unknown." The short interval between the onset of symptoms and death is "really worrying," Serge Ngalebato, the medical director of the regional Bikoro Hospital, said to The Associated Press.
What next?
A "genuinely new illness" sometimes emerges, as with Covid-19, "but it is very rare," Michael Head, a global health researcher at Britain's University of Southampton, said to The Washington Post. The spread of "hemorrhagic fever–like symptoms" in a country with poor public health infrastructure is "concerning," but usually it turns out to be "a bug" that "we know about." A flu-like disease that killed dozens in southwestern Congo in December was later determined to have been caused by malaria.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Marisa Silver’s 6 favorite books that capture a lifetime
Feature The author recommends works by John Williams, Ian McEwan, and more
-
Book reviews: ‘We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution’ and ‘Will There Ever Be Another You’
Feature The many attempts to amend the U.S. Constitution and Patricia Lockwood’s struggle with long Covid
-
Philadelphia’s Calder Gardens
Feature A permanent new museum
-
FDA OKs generic abortion pill, riling the right
Speed Read The drug in question is a generic version of mifepristone, used to carry out two-thirds of US abortions
-
The new Stratus Covid strain – and why it’s on the rise
The Explainer ‘No evidence’ new variant is more dangerous or that vaccines won’t work against it, say UK health experts
-
‘Nightmare bacteria’ are rapidly spreading
Under the radar The infections are largely resistant to antibiotics
-
Kissing bug disease has a growing presence in the US
The explainer The disease has yielded a steady stream of cases in the last 10 years
-
Climate change is making us eat more sugar
Under the radar Sweets make the heat feel more manageable
-
Trump makes unmoored claims on Tylenol and autism
Speed Read No causal relationship has been established between autism and acetaminophen use during pregnancy
-
RFK Jr. vaccine panel advises restricting MMRV shot
Speed Read The committee voted to restrict access to a childhood vaccine against chickenpox
-
Quit-smoking ads are being put out
Under the radar The dissolution of a government-funded campaign could lead to more smokers in the future