The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed that a worrying mystery illness is spreading in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The unknown disease has so far sickened hundreds and killed dozens since reports of it first emerged in early January. Here’s what to know about the outbreaks so far.
What is the disease?
At this time, health officials do not know what the disease is. In the WHO’s weekly bulletin for the February 10–16 period, the agency says the unknown disease “poses a significant public health threat.”
The disease is currently active in two regional clusters, according to the report, and worryingly, of those who have died from it, nearly half of the deaths happened within just 48 hours of symptoms emerging.
The first regional cluster where the disease made itself known is in the Boloko Village, in the Bolomba Health Zone region of the DRC. In that village, three children reportedly died from the disease between January 10–13.
Then in early February, the disease reportedly spread to its second regional cluster in Bomate Village, Basankusu Health Zone, located in the northwest of the DRC. Initially, there were 20 reported deaths from the disease there between January 30 and February 9.
As Reuters reports, WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic told a briefing on Tuesday that “The outbreaks, which have seen cases rise rapidly within days, pose a significant public health threat. The exact cause remains unknown.”
How many people have died or become sick?
Unfortunately, health authorities now say that both the number of cases and the number of deaths have risen sharply since the first initial reports came in for both outbreak clusters.
WHO says that as of February 15, a total of 431 people have become sick across both clusters. In total, there have been 53 known deaths from the illness. That represents a case fatality rate (CFR) of 12.2%.
When breaking down the illnesses and deaths by regional clusters, 12 cases and eight deaths have occurred in the Bolomba Health Zone, where the disease was first reported. That means that in that single zone, the disease has a case fatality rate of 66.7%.
But it is the second cluster, in the Basankusu Health Zone, where the majority of cases and deaths have occurred. In the Basankusu Health Zone, there have been 419 cases with 45 deaths, representing a case fatality rate of 10.7%.
How far has the disease spread?
As of the WHO’s bulletin, the unknown disease has only been reported in the Bolomba Health Zone and Basankusu Health Zone in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The two areas are relatively close to each other and are located in the northwestern portion of the country.
Currently, the disease is not reported to have spread to any other areas of the DRC or neighboring countries
How does the disease spread?
It is currently unknown how the disease spreads.
Health authorities have reported that trace-back data shows the outbreak is thought to have first happened in the Bolomba Health Zone. Multiple children became sick with the disease. According to WHO, “Reports indicate that the children had consumed a bat carcass prior to onset of signs and symptom.”
This suggests that the disease may be spread by the consumption of animals that are harboring it, but this is not a certainty. It is unknown if researchers have discovered a direct link between bat consumption and the outbreak of the disease.
Diseases can also have multiple routes of transmission.
What are the symptoms of the disease?
The WHO’s bulletin states that the children who first came down with symptoms after eating the bat suffered from the following:
- fever
- headache
- diarrhea
- fatigue
Those symptoms later transitioned into:
- subconjunctival hemorrhage
- epistaxis
- hematemesis
However, the range of symptoms across all cases is more broad. Health authorities say infected persons may produce a number of symptoms, including:
- fever
- chills
- headache
- myalgia
- body aches
- sweating
- rhinorrhea
- neck stiffness
- cough
- vomiting
- diarrhea
- abdominal cramps
Could this be the start of another pandemic?
It is much too early to say whether the mystery illness that has broken out in the DRC could be the beginning of the next pandemic. Health authorities simply know too little about the disease and how it spreads at this time.
However, it’s worth noting that in December, there were reports of another mystery illness in the DRC, and that disease was later found out to be severe malaria, reported Reuters.
In other words, just because the disease is a “mystery” right now, doesn’t mean it’s not simply an existing illness that health officials have previously identified.
However, WHO does say that tests have ruled out other diseases, including Ebola and Marburg. The exclusion of these diseases raises “concerns about a severe infectious or toxic agent” being behind the as-of-yet-unknown disease.
Other possibilities for the mystery disease include “malaria, viral hemorrhagicfever, food or water poisoning, typhoid fever, and meningitis,” according to WHO.
Or it could turn out to be something totally new. For now, health authorities simply need more time to determine what it is.
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