Off The Record
More Than 50 Individuals Are Killed By A Mysterious New Disease Within Hours Of Symptoms Appearing, Raising Alarm
An unknown virus that has killed over 50 people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is causing increasing concern.
The World Health Organization has reported that the virus has been linked to the village of Boloko in the country’s northwest, where three children died in January after experiencing hemorrhagic symptoms.
The three children, all younger than five, are thought to have consumed a bat before becoming ill. Whether the two are directly related or not is currently unknown, though.
More than 50 individuals have died and 431 more have been diagnosed in Boloko and the town of Bomate as of February 15.
Health experts are keeping a careful eye on the situation and are especially worried about what prompted the unexpected epidemic.
“The outbreaks, which have seen cases rise rapidly within days, pose a significant public health threat. The exact cause remains unknown,” WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic told reporters in a recent update (via Reuters).
“We are investigating whether it is a hazardous substance or another infection. We must determine what can be done and when WHO can provide support.”
What do we know about the virus?
The WHO states that the virus first causes headache, diarrhea, and exhaustion before developing into hemorrhagic fever. According to reports, fatalities happened about 48 hours after the symptoms started.
Similar viruses like Marburg or Ebola have been tested for in patients, but the results have been negative. Investigations are underway into additional causes, including typhoid fever, meningitis, food or water poisoning, malaria, and viral hemorrhagic fever.
The WHO has also said that they are yet to establish links between the outbreaks, adding that: “Sequencing and additional investigations are ongoing to determine the cause of illness and deaths in the two health zones.”
Speaking about the possible significance of the outbreaks, Dr Michael Head, a senior research fellow in global health at the University of Southampton, said (via MailOnline): “There is a significant lot of ambiguity about this outbreak.”
He continued by saying that although such outbreaks are prevalent worldwide, more testing is necessary to find a “confirmed pathogen.”
“However, here, it is concerning that we have hundreds of cases and over 50 deaths, with hemorrhagic-fever like symptoms widely reported among those cases,” he stated.
A similar cluster of cases happened in December and was eventually identified as a mix of increased malnutrition and malaria, according to Professor Paul Hunter, an infectious disease specialist at the University of East Anglia.
“It is certainly possible here that we have a similar issue,” he added.
“But we need to wait the results of ongoing investigations to know the cause.”
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