The World Health Organization said that an unexplained epidemic broke out simultaneously in five villages in the Equateur Province in the northwest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which has infected 1,100 people and killed 60 people. Most of the dead patients had only about 48 hours from the onset of symptoms to death.

Ngashi Ngongo, an official of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in an online briefing on February 27 that the test report showed that in the Basankusu medical area of Equateur Province, 309 (54.1%) of the 571 patients tested for malaria tested positive.

Last year, another mysterious flu-like illness that killed dozens of people in another part of the country was eventually identified as malaria. At the same time, the malaria virus is currently spreading in the Equateur Province. But the WHO said that it has not yet been determined whether there is a connection between the two.

Due to years of war, Congo (DRC) is extremely short of basic medical supplies such as protective equipment, antiviral drugs, and testing. This has caused a certain degree of panic in the local area, and local children have not been able to receive testing and treatment in the past few weeks.

Malaria is prevalent in Africa, Southeast Asia and other regions, and is mainly transmitted through mosquito bites. Young children, pregnant women, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems are more susceptible. In severe cases, malaria can cause complications such as anemia, hypoglycemia, acute renal failure or acute pulmonary edema. The main treatment drugs include artemisinin and its derivatives.

This outbreak began on January 21 this year. The first case occurred in Boroko Village, Bolomba District, where three children under the age of 5 shared a dead bat and died within two days due to hemorrhagic fever symptoms. Their initial symptoms included fever, headache, diarrhea, and fatigue, which later developed more severe bleeding symptoms.

Subsequently, similar cases occurred in the village and the nearby village of Danda. Initially, WHO ruled out Ebola virus and Marburg virus. Investigators from the Africa CDC then continued to investigate other possible causes, including malaria, food or water poisoning, typhoid, influenza, meningitis or hemorrhagic fever.

As one of the main hosts of Plasmodium (malaria pathogen), bats can be part of the malaria transmission chain. In parts of Africa, people still retain the habit of eating bats. Bats are natural hosts of many viruses, including Ebola, SARS coronavirus, etc.

According to WHO data from 2022, the number of such outbreaks in Africa has surged by more than 63% in the past decade. Among them, Ebola and other viral hemorrhagic fevers account for nearly 70%. The WHO report also pointed out that population growth and urban expansion have led to human encroachment on wildlife habitats, which may increase the risk of disease transmission from animals to humans.

According to Medical Director Serge Ngalebato, what is really worrying is that most cases only take two days from the onset of symptoms to death. Its mortality rate is as high as 12.49%, far exceeding the new crown.

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