An Unknown Disease Spreading in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Health workers in DRC (Photo: Hugh Kinsella Cunningham/Getty Images)

A disease is spreading through the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in the Equateur Province, and according to the World Health Organization (WHO), there have been 955 confirmed cases and 60 deaths as of Feb. 19, 2025. Both Ebola and Marbug viruses are ruled out as potential sources of the disease, with current WHO theories including malaria, food or water poisoning, and typhoid fever as potential sources of this disease outbreak. 

The disease manifests through symptoms such as vomiting, fever, and internal bleeding. Should the person die, it happens quickly, usually within 48 hours of contracting the illness. The outbreak began in the village of Boloko after three children ate a bat and died within two days. A second outbreak occurred in the village of Bomate on Feb. 9; however, it is unknown whether these two outbreaks are directly connected and WHO suggests that they are likely two separate events entirely. 

Attempting to address the disease, WHO is partnering with local staff to conduct testing and contact tracing. However, they are facing significant challenges posed like the remote nature of the villages, limited lab capacity, and a generally weak healthcare infrastructure. These factors all raise the risk of the disease potentially spreading further before it is able to be adequately addressed. 

Geographic distribution of cases of disease and deaths associated with it in the DRC (Photo: World Health Association)

Congo is particularly vulnerable to disease outbreaks for a few reasons, a key one being its proximity to the forest. According to Gabriel Nsakala, a professor of public health at Congo’s National Pedagogical University, in Time Magazine, “As long as we have these forests, we will always have a few epidemics with viruses which will mutate”. 

There is the potential for this disease to be zoological in nature as the first outbreak of sickness was tied to the 3 children who ate the bat. If it did come from a bat, according to Dr Zania Stamataki, an associate professor in viral immunology at the University of Birmingham, the disease would be harder to fight off, as the population has no pre-existing immunity. Until WHO and health workers in the DRC are able to determine what kind of disease this is, it is unknown what scale of impact it may have. 

One final reason the DRC is incredibly vulnerable at this moment is due to its poor healthcare infrastructure, along with lack of roads and phone infrastructure as well. These all pose challenges to diagnosing and containing the disease. In addition, the rebel group M23 continues to advance in territory gains 1,000 miles to the East of the disease outbreaks. This influx of refugees puts further strain onto an already strained health system. This disease outbreak only further worsens the conditions of a country already in conflict and there is still more work to be done in deducing the origin of the illness and containing it to prevent it from spreading further.