In most cases, people with the illness have died within 48 hours of showing symptoms.

Mysterious illness kills more than 50 people in Democratic Republic of Congo

(ABC) -- More than 50 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s north-west have died of an unidentified illness, doctors on the ground and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have confirmed.
The outbreak began on January 21, and 419 cases have since been recorded, including 53 deaths.
In the majority of cases, the interval between the onset of symptoms and death is 48 hours.
“That’s really worrying,” said Serge Ngalebato, the medical director of Bikoro Hospital in a regional monitoring centre.
The WHO’s Africa office said the first outbreak in the town of Boloko began after three children ate a bat and died within 48 hours following haemorrhagic fever symptoms.
There have long been concerns about diseases jumping from animals to humans in places where wild animals are popularly eaten, the Associated Press reports.
The WHO said in 2022 that the number of such outbreaks in Africa had surged by more than 60 percent in the past decade.
After the outbreak of the current mystery disease began in the town of Bomate on February 9, samples from 13 cases were sent to the National Institute for Biomedical Research in Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, for testing, the WHO said.
All samples tested negative for Ebola or other common haemorrhagic fever diseases such as Marburg. Some tested positive for malaria.
In December 2024, the WHO declared an outbreak of an unknown disease in south-western Congo and later said it was caused by malaria and common respiratory infections, compounded by malnutrition.
A total of 891 people came down with the disease, with 48 people dying between October 24 and December 16 last year.

(Latest Update February 26, 2025)