Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are dealing with a mysterious disease outbreak linked to bat consumption. The outbreak reportedly began on January 21, 2025, in the town of Boloko, with infections spreading in the following weeks. The illness was first documented among three children who consumed bat meat and died within 48 hours, exhibiting hemorrhagic fever symptoms such as nosebleeds and vomiting blood, according to the New York Post.
The disease's rapid spread resulted in more than 53 deaths and affected a total of 431 individuals, translating to a concerning death rate of approximately 12.49%, much higher than the COVID-19 fatality rate, which stands at around 3.14%. Medical personnel noticed an alarmingly brief interval of 48 hours between symptom onset and death. "The pace at which people succumb to the disease is quite unusual and concerning," said Serge Ngalebato, the medical director of Bikoro Hospital, according to a report by the South China Morning Post.
Efforts to identify the disease's cause have so far ruled out known deadly viruses such as Ebola, dengue, Marburg, and yellow fever. Over a dozen samples analyzed did not match these viruses, though some samples indicated malaria, The Independent reported.
The outbreak's swift progression of symptoms has spread fear due to its unfamiliar nature. Samples from 13 reported cases were dispatched to the National Institute for Biomedical Research in Kinshasa for examination. The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified the outbreak as a public health threat and is closely monitoring the escalating situation in collaboration with African authorities to determine the disease's pathogen.
The occurrence of the outbreak coincides with a broader trend described by the WHO, noting that zoonotic disease outbreaks in Africa have increased by over 60% in the past decade, with the consumption of wild animals exacerbating the risk of animal-to-human disease transmission.
The DRC's insufficient healthcare infrastructure, especially in remote areas where the disease is spreading, adds to the challenges. Violence in the eastern region further complicates crisis management efforts, damaging essential health infrastructure needed for effective disease control.
The WHO warns that the overlap of a second outbreak in the village of Bomate, starting February 9, has intensified the crisis. The pressure on overwhelmed medical systems in eastern DRC, according to the WHO, underscores the urgent need for intervention.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.