More than 50 people have died within a matter of hours as a mystery illness has swept through northwestern Congo, with multiple symptoms acting as warning signs of the condition.
The Africa office of the World Health Organization shared news of the illness on Monday (February 24), stating that the outbreak began on January 21 after three children in the village of Boloko ate a bat and died within 48 hours of falling ill.
Following the initial outbreak, the illness spread to result in 419 recorded cases and 53 deaths.
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Certain signifiers of the illness have prompted researchers to consider whether it could be Ebola, dengue, Marburg or yellow fever, but tests of samples collected during the outbreak have ruled out these suggestions. Some, but not all, of the samples tested positive for malaria.
What are the symptoms of the mysterious illness?
A number of serious symptoms have been associated with the illness, which are as follows:
- Fever
- Vomiting
- Internal bleeding
- Muscle aches and fatigue
- Diarrhoea
These indicators are known as 'hemorrhagic fever' symptoms, and are associated with infectious diseases that can be life-threatening.
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According to the Mayo Clinic, viral hemorrhagic fevers can damage the walls of tiny blood vessels, making them leak. They can also prevent the blood from clotting.
Examples of such fevers include Crimean-Congo, Hantavirus and Lassa, as well as the aforementioned Ebola.
One of the most concerning factors of the mysterious outbreak is the short interval between the onset of symptoms and the deaths of patients who have died as a result of them.
Serge Ngalebato, medical director of Bikoro Hospital, a regional monitoring center, said of the short window: "That's what's really worrying."
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What has the WHO said about the illness?
In a bulletin on outbreaks, the WHO described the outbreak as a 'significant public health risk'.
With the exact cause still unknown, there are concerns about a 'severe infectious or toxic agent'.
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The bulletin added: "Key challenges include the rapid progression of the disease, with nearly half of the deaths occurring within 48 hours of symptom onset in one of the affected health zones, and an exceptionally high case fatality rate in another."
The organization has stressed that 'urgent action is needed to accelerate laboratory investigations, improve case management and isolation capacities, and strengthen surveillance and risk communication' as the outbreak continues.
"The remote location and weak healthcare infrastructure increase the risk of further spread, requiring immediate high-level intervention to contain the outbreak," it added.
Emily Brown