An unidentified illness in Congo’s Equateur province has killed at least 53 people and sickened more than 400 since January, with health officials still uncertain about its cause or how it spreads.
Chinedu Asadu and Jean-Yves Kamale report for The Associated Press.
In short:
- Two separate outbreaks emerged in remote villages, with one possibly linked to children eating a bat. The other has seen many malaria cases, but no clear connection between the two has been found.
- Symptoms include fever, chills, body aches, and diarrhea. Ebola and similar hemorrhagic fevers have been ruled out, but other potential causes like food or water contamination are being investigated.
- Experts have been deployed, but the region’s weak healthcare infrastructure and remote location have made containment difficult. The World Health Organization is calling for urgent action to improve diagnostics and patient care.
Key quote:
“All these viruses are viruses that have reservoirs in the forest. And so, as long as we have these forests, we will always have a few epidemics with viruses which will mutate.”
— Gabriel Nsakala, professor of public health at Congo’s National Pedagogical University
Why this matters:
Zoonotic diseases — illnesses that jump from animals to humans — are on the rise, especially in regions where people rely on wild animals for food. Deforestation and habitat loss can increase the likelihood of such outbreaks by bringing humans into closer contact with disease-carrying wildlife. Congo’s vast forests are a known reservoir for emerging viruses, and health experts warn that without better surveillance and infrastructure, future outbreaks could be harder to contain.
Read more: Cutting forests and disturbing natural habitats increases our risk of wildlife diseases
