Since early 2025, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been hard hit by a series of community-associated illnesses and deaths, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to intervene to support local health authorities in identifying the cause of the ongoing outbreaks. In January, health authorities in Bolamba reported 12 cases of an unidentified disease, including 8 deaths. The most recent outbreak occurred in Basankusu health zone, where a further 141 people fell ill in mid-February, but no deaths were reported. In the same health zone, 158 cases and 58 deaths were reported in early February. Notably, increased health surveillance in Basankusu and Bolomba has led to the identification of a total of 1,096 cases and 60 deaths, according to the WHO report, which describes a complex set of symptoms including fever, headache, chills, sweating, stiff neck, muscle aches, multiple joint and muscle pains, runny nose or nosebleeds, cough, vomiting, and diarrhoea. The Kinshasa and Equateur National Rapid Response Team, which includes WHO health emergency experts deployed in the Basankusu and Bolomba health zones, said initial laboratory tests on samples collected from the affected areas were negative for Ebola and Marburg virus disease. However, about half of the samples tested positive for malaria. Further tests for meningitis are being carried out. Food and water samples are also being tested for environmental contamination.
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February 27, 2025
