DR Congo: WHO tracks deadly mysterious illness

This article is published in association with United Nations.

Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) are carrying out further investigations to determine the cause of another cluster of illness and deaths in Équateur province, UN officials reported on Thursday.

In recent months, disease surveillance has identified increases in cases and fatalities on three occasions across different areas of the country, which triggered follow-up investigations to confirm the cause and provide needed support, WHO said in a statement.

Symptoms include fever, headache, chills, sweating, stiff neck, muscle aches, multiple joint pain and body aches, a runny or bleeding from the nose, cough, vomiting and diarrhoea.

DRC currently faces multiple challenges, with a conflict raging in the east, as Congolese armed forces face off against the Rwanda-backed M23 – with the fighting involving multiple other armed groups.

Illness and death

A series of outbreaks and fatalities have been occurring in Équateur province since the beginning of 2025, the UN health agency said.

The most recent cluster occurred in the Basankusu health zone, where last week 141 additional people fell ill, with no deaths reported so far. Some 158 cases and 58 deaths were reported in the same zone earlier in February.

In January, Bolamba health zone reported 12 cases including eight deaths.

Major challenges

The remoteness of affected areas limits access to healthcare, including testing and treatment, WHO said.

Basankusu and Bolomba are around 180 kilometres apart and more than 300 kilometres from the provincial capital Mbandaka. The two localities are reachable by road or via the Congo River.

However, poor road and communication links are major challenges, said the UN healthy agency, which continues to support local authorities in reinforcing investigation and response measures, with more than 80 community health workers trained to detect and report cases and deaths.   

Further efforts are needed to reinforce testing, early case detection and reporting, said WHO, which remains on the ground supporting health workers, collaborating closely with health authorities at all levels.

Increased surveillance

The UN health agency has delivered emergency medical supplies, including testing kits, and developed detailed protocols to enhance disease investigation.

Increased disease surveillance has identified in total of 1,096 sick people and 60 deaths in Basankusu and Bolomba fitting a broad case definition of the mysterious illness.

In response to the latest cluster, a national rapid response team from Kinshasa and Équateur, including WHO health emergency experts, was deployed to Basankusu and Bolomba to investigate the situation.

The experts are stepping up disease surveillance, conducting interviews with community members to understand the background and providing treatment for diseases such as malaria, typhoid fever and meningitis, WHO reported.

Ongoing testing

Initial laboratory analysis has produced negative results for Ebola virus disease and Marburg virus disease.

Around half of the samples tested positive for malaria, which is common in the region, WHO said.

Further tests are to be carried out for meningitis. Food, water and environmental samples will also be analysed for any possible contamination.