A mysterious disease with a ‘significant public health threat’ has already claimed over 50 lives in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The outbreak began on January 21 in the village of Boloko after three children reportedly consumed a dead bat, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) Africa office.
All three children, under the age of five, experienced severe symptoms, including nosebleeds and vomiting blood, before succumbing to the illness. Other victims have reported fever, vomiting, bleeding, headaches, and joint pain.
Since then, the disease has spread to the nearby village of Danda and beyond, leading to 419 confirmed cases and 53 deaths in Équateur Province, an area of rainforests and farmland nearly the size of England.
Bats are known carriers of deadly viruses such as Marburg and Ebola. The latter killed 2,299 people in eastern DRC between 2018 and 2020, while Marburg has caused at least 56 deaths in neighboring countries over the past two years.
Despite initial fears, tests have ruled out both Marburg and Ebola, and WHO officials have not yet identified the cause of the outbreak.
What’s particularly concerning is the rapid progression of the disease, victims are dying within just 48 hours of showing symptoms.
Serge Ngalebato, medical director of Bikoro Hospital in the DRC, expressed his concern, stating, “That’s what’s really worrying.”
However, there is some hope, as the mystery disease seems to have a lower death rate, approximately 12%, compared to Ebola and Marburg.
Another issue being closely watched is the rising risk of diseases being transmitted from animals to humans, especially from the consumption of wild animals.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported a significant rise in outbreaks like this, with incidents increasing by 60% over the past decade.
Health experts have also raised concerns about the DRC’s “weak healthcare infrastructure,” which heightens the risk of the disease spreading further, calling for immediate, high-level intervention to contain the outbreak.
Although WHO officials have not yet identified the disease, 18 cases were sent for testing following a second wave of infections. These tests came back negative for other hemorrhagic diseases like Ebola, though some cases showed a positive result for malaria.
This development follows the DRC’s struggle with Disease X last year, which claimed the lives of 143 people.
Officials have determined that the recent outbreak is likely due to acute respiratory infections complicated by malaria.
The term “Disease X” was first introduced by the UN agency in 2018 to describe a hypothetical unknown pathogen that could potentially lead to the next global pandemic.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that while no one can predict the exact location or timing of the next Disease X, its emergence is inevitable. “It is a matter of when, not if,” he emphasized.
Disease X could be caused by various pathogens, such as an influenza virus, a new coronavirus, or even a pathogen that is not yet identified, he explained.
“COVID-19 was a form of Disease X, a new pathogen leading to a new disease. But there will be another Disease X, or perhaps even a Disease Y or Z in the future,” Tedros warned.
