A perplexing illness has swept through northwestern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), killing at least 60 to 150 people since January, with health officials racing to identify its cause. The outbreak, first reported on January 21 in Équateur Province’s Boloko village, has infected over 955 individuals across two clusters, including a second hotspot in Bomate, as per the World Health Organization (WHO) Africa office.

Symptoms—fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and internal bleeding—mimic hemorrhagic fevers like Ebola or Marburg, yet tests on 18 samples at Kinshasa’s National Institute for Biomedical Research ruled these out. Some samples tested positive for malaria, common in the region, but the rapid 48-hour progression from symptoms to death in nearly half the cases has alarmed experts. The outbreak’s origin is tentatively linked to three children in Boloko who died after eating a bat carcass, raising fears of a zoonotic disease, though no definitive pathogen has been confirmed.

The DRC’s fragile healthcare system and the remote, rainforest-covered outbreak zones complicate containment. “The weak infrastructure increases the risk of further spread,” the WHO warned, noting 431 cases and 53 deaths by mid-February, with numbers climbing since. Children under five account for 18% of cases, amplifying concerns in a nation already battling mpox and malnutrition crises.

Speculation on social media suggests a new “Disease X,” but experts caution it may be an undiagnosed strain of a known illness worsened by local conditions. Last year, a similar mystery outbreak in southwestern DRC was later tied to malaria and respiratory infections. As investigations intensify, the WHO calls for urgent international support to avert a broader crisis in this vulnerable region.