A mysterious disease outbreak in Congo has resulted in over 50 deaths and 413 infections, with symptoms resembling hemorrhagic fever, including fever, vomiting, and major internal bleeding. The first cases were reported in Boloko after children ate a dead bat. Health officials noted an alarming 48-hour timeframe from symptom onset to death, with half of the patients also testing positive for malaria. While the outbreak is distressing, patients have tested negative for known hemorrhagic fevers like Ebola, prompting further investigation into potential new pathogens.
The symptoms shown in these infections are different to the alarming infections caused by severe malaria in the DRC at the end of last year. The time from symptom onset to death is 48 hours, which is very alarming.
We know that the patients tested negative for known hemorrhagic fever viruses such as Marburg and Ebola. Other hemorrhagic fever-causing pathogens are being investigated.
Local officials have described the outbreak as 'really worrying', with doctors saying the outbreak was 'really alarming' and 'of significance to the rest of the world'.
About half of the patients have tested positive for malaria, similar to a separate outbreak in the country reported late last year.
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