At least 60 people have died and more than 1,000 have been infected by an unknown illness in northwestern Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the World Health Organization. Symptoms of uncontrolled bleeding, vomiting, and diarrhea resemble the highly contagious Ebola and Marburg viruses, though lab tests have ruled them out.
The outbreak began in January in the village of Boloko, where three small children died within two days of eating a dead bat; four others died within days. A second outbreak began two weeks later in Bomate, a village more than 100 miles away, killing 45 and infecting more than 400. No link has been discovered between the two villages. The WHO is reportedly testing patients for a variety of potential causes, including food poisoning and typhoid.
The country saw dozens killed by a similar unknown illness—later confirmed as severe malaria—in December and is dealing with a wave of mpox cases, which have killed 1,200 people since early 2024. Rwanda-backed rebels known as the M23 have captured several cities in the country's east, leading to the deaths of thousands and displacing hundreds of thousands.
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