The mystery virus has killed dozens of people (Image: MARK NAFTALIN/UNICEF HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
A mysterious and lethal has struck in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing swiftly within hours of symptom onset, sparking grave concerns among health professionals. The (WHO) has reported a staggering death toll of over 50 individuals in the country’s north-west, as an unidentified disease rapidly manifests symptoms.
On the front lines, WHO medics have encountered hundreds of cases, noting a terrifyingly brief two-day gap from symptoms to death. Serge Ngalebato, medical director of Bikoro , expressed his alarm at the speed of the fatalities, labelling the situation “really worrying”.
The WHO fears another virus may have crossed species, posing a new threat to human health. Since the outbreak’s emergence on January 21, there have been 419 cases and 53 deaths, indicating a chilling 12.49 percent mortality rate—dwarfing ‘s 3.14 percent.
Originating in Boloko town after three children who consumed a bat succumbed to haemorrhagic fever within 48 hours, this crisis underscores the dangers of zoonotic diseases in regions where wildlife consumption is common.
Medical staff of the Ebola Treatment Unit (ETU) working in Personal Protective Equipment (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
The World Health Organisation (WHO) reported in 2022 that the number of disease outbreaks in Africa has skyrocketed by over 60 percent in the past decade. Following the second outbreak of an unidentified illness in the town of Bomate on February 9, samples from 13 cases were dispatched to the National Institute for Biomedical Research in Kinshasa, the capital, for analysis, reports
The WHO confirmed that all samples tested negative for Ebola and other common haemorrhagic fever diseases such as Marburg, although some did test positive for malaria. Last year, a similar mystery flu-like illness that claimed dozens of lives in another region of the country was identified as likely being malaria.